Stefan Borson: Chelsea face big hurdle in £40m talks

Chelsea could be stopped from renewing their £40million Infinite Athlete deal by new toughened associated party transaction rules .

That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that the initial sponsorship deal between both parties was struck under the 2021 rules.

As revealed by Football Insider, Chelsea are in advanced talks to continue their Infinite Athlete after failing to find other sponsorship opportunities this summer.

The US company struck a £40million deal to appear on the front of Chelsea’s shirts last season after the Blues initially started their league campaign with blank kits.

Eyebrows were raised at the value of the deal with The Sponsor’s Fair Market Valuation suggesting that Chelsea’s shirt sponsor should have been the eighth-most valuable in the Premier League with an estimated value of £16.9million.

Borson believes the new toughened associated party rules could make it more difficult for Chelsea to extend or renew their deal.

Chelsea face hurdle in £40m Infinite Athlete deal

“What we’ve seen so far is that there’s talk of Infinite Athlete continuing on the sleeve and throughout the summer,” Borson told Football Insider.

“I don’t think either of those deals would be worth £40million.

“The original deal is also relevant to City’s ongoing case against the Premier League as Chelsea’s initial deal was done under the 2021 associated party transaction rules.

“We now think that Clearlake could have some interest in Infinite Athlete and the rules around associated party deals have toughened since the deal was signed off.

“So that means it will be more difficult for Chelsea to renew this deal as they’ll have to go through the process again as it is a new contract.

“So I do wonder whether they’ll be able to do it.“

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The post Stefan Borson: Chelsea face big hurdle in £40m talks appeared first on Football Insider.