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Chelsea Seal £40million-A-Year Kit Sponsorship Deal With Yokohama Rubber

Published

10 years ago

February 27, 2015

Chelsea and The Yokohama Rubber Company, have reached an agreement for the Japanese company, to become the Premier League’s club new official shirt partner. The deal, which will last for five years from the 2015/2016 season, is worth a massive £40million a year.
It represents the second highest kit endorsement ever signed by an English club – Manchester United have a £53m-a-year contract with Chevrolet.
Chelsea are understood to have received a £25m offer from Turkish Airlines, but Russian owner Roman Abramovich demanded a lot more.
“It is an absolute pleasure to welcome Yokohama as our new Official Shirt Partner and we look forward to a successful relationship with them,” Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said.
“Chelsea and Yokohama are a perfect fit. Both are global organisations with a focus on performance and innovation, as well as having huge ambition and an unwavering culture of success.
“We believe that Yokohama will play a key role in helping us drive our global expansion in international markets such as the US, where they have operated with distinction for many years. Also, of course, Chelsea having such an esteemed and historic Japanese company as our partner enables us to accelerate our development in their home market too.
“We are also looking forward to working with Yokohama on our community projects around the world through the Chelsea Foundation, when together we can use the power of sport as a force for good.
“I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Samsung, with whom we have had a successful and rewarding relationship since 2005. Chelsea has demonstrated through that 10-year partnership that we can play a critical role in helping our partners achieve their global growth objectives. We look forward to accomplishing similar success with Yokohama.”
Yokohama, who manufacture tyres, also sponsor NBA teams Boston Celtic and the San Antonio Spurs.