Chelsea’s strategic decision to turn down several offers for a front-of-shirt sponsor last summer is expected to pay off handsomely this year, a report has claimed.
The west London outfit have taken an unorthodox approach to sponsorship agreements under the BlueCo ownership tenure. Chelsea spent the majority of the 2024–25 campaign with a blank shirt before belatedly agreeing a short-term deal with DAMAC for the final month of the campaign.
Yet, Chelsea’s kit was once again unblemished for the duration of their triumphant Club World Cup run. By winning the inaugural edition of the newly expanded competition, the Premier League side’s global exposure has sky-rocketed. According to a source from The Telegraph, Chelsea could have “left as much as £100 million [$133.9 million] on the table by agreeing a long-term front-of-shirt sponsorship this time last year”.
Maresca’s side is said to be fielding multiple offers worth as much as £60 million ($80.4 million) per year, a considerable upgrade on the £40 million ($53.6 million) proposals which were reportedly on the table last summer.
New sponsorship is not the sole source of additional income for Chelsea to enjoy. By routing Paris Saint-Germain in the showpiece fixture, the Blues banked around £85.6 million ($114.6 million) in prize money alone.
The Telegraph have also offered some insight into how that swollen pot will be distributed out among the squad; each player is expected to bank a cool £350,000 ($470,000) bonus. For some of the squad’s more modestly paid members, that represents a considerable proportion of their yearly salary.
This international triumph has also won Chelsea more than money; there is a renewed swagger about the club. “I said at the start of this tournament that our plan is to win it and people looked at me as if I was crazy,” Levi Colwill boasted after Sunday’s final. “So I’m going to say the exact same thing now going into the Premier League and Champions League.
“This is the biggest trophy I’ve ever won. I think the Club World Cup will be bigger than the Champions League and we were the first team to win it. It was a statement victory and, in the future, if we keep winning trophies then everyone will give us the love that we deserve.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Line Up ‘£100 Million Bonus’ After Strategic Club World Cup Decision.
