Chelsea are close to ending their long drought of front-of-shirt sponsorships after making progress in talks with American software giant Oracle. The Blues have been without a permanent main sponsor for most of the 2024–25 season, which is said to have cost the club more than £100 million in lost income.
Reports say that Oracle is about to become Chelsea’s new sponsor on the front of their shirts, and the deal could be made public very soon. The tech company, with a market value of about £470 billion, is expected to be announced in due course. The deal would end an over-18-month search for a long-term main sponsor at Stamford Bridge.
Since the ownership change, Chelsea’s business problems have been well-known. For most of last season, the west London club didn’t have a front-of-shirt sponsor. They secured only a short-term deal with Dubai-based DAMAC Properties covering the final seven matches of the 2024–25 season.
The deal, announced in April, was never intended to be a long-term fix. This left the club’s commercial department scrambling to find a big partner. Chelsea’s president of business, Todd Kline, and club president Jason Gannon have led the negotiations for the Oracle deal, which is a big win for them.
Sources in the industry say that Chelsea was hoping to make about £60 million a year from a front-of-shirt deal. This would place them among the Premier League’s top earners in that category, alongside Manchester United.
Oracle recently partnered with FPT, a Vietnamese tech company, which became Chelsea’s sleeve sponsor in October. The sleeve deal, valued at £17-18 million per season, featured FPT’s logo on men’s, women’s, and academy kits.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital acquired Chelsea in May 2022, the club’s business operations have been scrutinized due to the lack of a primary sponsor. The Blues previously earned £40 million from Infinite Athlete during the 2023-24 season, but the deal was not renewed.
Chelsea get ready for their game against Everton this weekend
Chelsea will have to prove that their form isn’t slipping when Everton comes to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Enzo Maresca’s team hasn’t won in their last four games in all competitions. This is a concerning trend that has dropped them to fifth in the Premier League table and raised doubts about their ability to finish in the top four.
The Blues have had a rough time lately. They lost 2-1 to Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday, drew 0-0 with Bournemouth, and lost 3-1 to Leeds United, which hurt them. That chain of events has put Chelsea eight points behind Arsenal, who are in first place, and they are now fighting to stay in the Champions League spots.
Everton is full of confidence as they head to west London. They have won four of their last five Premier League games. After impressive wins over Manchester United and Bournemouth, David Moyes’ team has moved up to seventh place in the table, just two points behind the top four.
In their last game, the Toffees beat Nottingham Forest 3-0, keeping their strong defensive record with three straight clean sheets.