It would be safe to say that Chelsea have faced a lot of issues during the Clearlake-Boehly ownership era. One of the biggest of them has been their inability to attract long-term sponsors. They played almost the entire 24/25 campaign without a front-of-shirt sponsor. Which other top team in Europe can you recall doing something similar? Damac did come, but only for a handful of games towards the end of the season.
Until now, that blank space on the front of the shirt has yet to be filled. And one can estimate that the club have missed out on close to £100 million due to lack of sponsors over the last 18 months.
These were the departments in which the club were expected to improve when the ownership changed hands. Instead, they have taken several steps back.
Now, it looks like a front-of-shirt sponsor is finally close to being announced. At the same time, there is some bad news regarding the situation as well. Once again, Chelsea have failed to find a long-term solution to their issues.
Chelsea close to announcing deal but there is bad news
As reported by Łukasz Bączek, Chelsea are close to announcing a new front-of-shirt sponsor in Oracle. The deal is expected to last until the end of the current season. They will pay significantly less than the club initially expected.
So, once again, this is a short-term solution for the Blues. Oracle will stay only until the end of the season, just like Infinite Athlete in the 23/24 campaign. Also, the value of the deal is much lower than anticipated.
Something needs to change here. Chelsea are a team on the rise. They are the world champions, playing Premier League and Champions League football, have a recognisable name like Cole Palmer and are based in London. They should not be having be having problems attracting sponsors, yet here we are.