Chelsea will emulate Barcelona with new launch but it may cost club millions

Chelsea will emulate Barcelona by launching their new shirt on Monday without a main sponsor on the front. The Blues saw their £40million-a-year deal with telecommunications giant Three come to an end following the climax of the 2022/23 campaign. And they are yet to agree sponsorship terms with a different company.

Barcelona famously avoided having a main shirt sponsor for the entirety of the last century. They then agreed to have the UNICEF logo on the front of their shirt in 2006, before switching to promote the Qatar Foundation in 2011. Two years later, Qatar Airways had a place on the Catalan club’s jersey, with Rakuten taking over in 2017. And they currently promote tech firm Spotify on the front of their shirt.

The west London giants are currently engaged in talks with other companies over a package to sponsor the front of their shirt. But with the new season drawing ever closer, Blues chiefs have decided to launch their new Nike kit without any front of shirt logo appearing. But the club could send out brand patches for fans to iron on to their shirts once a sponsorship deal has been agreed.

Chelsea will be hoping to conclude their sponsorship deal as quickly as possible before they host Liverpool in their opening league game next month. But industry insiders have suggested that the club will have to accept a reduced fee after leaving it so late in the day.