Chelsea, which hosts Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday, is one of the few professional teams without a main sponsor on the shirt.
For the second year in a row, Chelsea have started the season without a title sponsor on the front of their jerseys, a rarity in the world of professional football.
The five-time Premier League winner has endured a period of turmoil under the leadership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
Blues' search for a sponsor
Following the expiry of a £120 million ($152 million) sponsorship deal with telecommunications company Three, which sponsored Chelsea's jerseys from 2020 to 2023, the Blues are yet to formally agree a new long-term sponsor.
Last season, they played the first seven games of the season without a sponsor until Infinite Athlete, a sports technology company, stepped in for the rest of the season.
According to iNews, Chelsea believed that if they qualified for the Champions League, they could agree to a long-term extension that would see them earn more than Arsenal and Manchester City's bumper deals with Emirates and Etihad respectively.
However, the Londoners finished sixth in the standings and missed out on the UCL.
That would also be the reason why a deal with Riyadh Airlines did not materialize. The airline, launched by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, was linked to a multi-year sponsorship deal.
Chelsea had proposed a deal with Paramount blocked
Chelsea had previously signed a deal with streaming platform Paramount+ to sponsor their kit for the 2023/24 season, which was ultimately blocked by a Premier League ruling. However, the league was concerned that the deal could upset existing broadcast rights holders, despite not competing directly for Premier League broadcast rights.
In other areas, however, Paramount+ is considered a rival to CBS and other PL rights holders, raising concerns that a deal would erode that relationship.
The club then considered striking a deal with Stake.com, an online gambling company. Premier League teams are currently allowed to use betting companies as front-of-shirt sponsors, but that will change after the end of the 2025/26 season after the league announced an impending ban.
The Chelsea Supporters' Trust found that 77% of fans were against the proposed gambling sponsorship and the club quickly abandoned the idea.
With the club still close to Financial Fair Play limits, officials will be keen to agree the front-of-shirt sponsorship deal in the foreseeable future to guarantee a much-needed cash injection.
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