The 11 biggest shirt sponsorship deals: Premier League dominates but Spain's where the big money is
- Michael Graham
- 5 July 2022
Mega shirt sponsorship deals give Europe's biggest clubs a massive advantage, but who has the most lucrative?
It's no secret that in football when you have the money you win things, and you can't win things until you have the money.
Then, the more you win things, the more money you need to keep winning things, meaning the biggest clubs become locked in a cycle of chasing larger and larger sponsorship deals.
You also have 'new money' clubs such as PSG and Man City entering the fray to complicate things even more.
Ahead of the 2022/23 season, Planet Sport looks at the clubs whose desire to keep on winning things (or win something in Tottenham's case) has landed them the most lucrative shirt sponsorship deals.
=8. Chelsea (€45m)
Former owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government, throwing the club's very future into doubt. Another effect of that was communications giant Three suspending their shirt sponsorship deal with the club.
With Abramovich now gone, Three have decided to continue with the deal, which is worth €45million per season to Chelsea. There is only one year left on the original deal, though, so the Blues will be expecting a lucrative renegotiation soon.
=8. Tottenham (€45m)
On the face of it, it looks like good money, but ironically the better Tottenham do on the pitch the worse the deal becomes. They are locked into it until 2027, so if they perform well, which feels likely under Antonio Conte, that €45million figure will start to look poor compared to their rivals.
=8. Liverpool (€45m)
Liverpool's shirt sponsorship deal is with financial firm Standard Chartered, and it has been for a while.
The club are about to enter the last season of a 12-year deal, which was an interesting one from the start. Essentially, Liverpool took bigger money up front in exchange for a long-term deal, knowing they would be underpaid their worth towards the end of it.
That has now happened, and the €45million per year is less that their current standing in the game is worth. However, Liverpool will be free to negotiate a new deal from 2023, so expect them to shoot up the table.
=8. Juventus (€45m)
It's all a bit complicated and convoluted, but the upshot is that Juventus get €45million a year from it, plus non-specific 'variables'.
7. Arsenal (€46.6m)
They have held the stadium naming rights ever since Arsenal left Highbury and it's increasingly hard to imagine an Arsenal shirt without 'Fly Emirates' on it.
That association is only going to grow too, with the current shirt sponsorship deal worth €46.6million a year and still having two years left to run.
6. Bayern Munich (€50m)
Bayern Munich have a rich history and are serial winners in a league that lacks a natural financial equal for them.
5. Manchester United (€55m)
Manchester United used to be the kings of the commercial world. Then again, they used to be the kings of the Premier League too.
4. Manchester City (€60m)
They have had a lengthy partnership with Etihad Airways ever since the landscape of the club changed.
That is believed to be worth around €78million per year, with shirt sponsorship accounting for €60million of that and stadium naming rights accounting for a large portion of the remainder.
3. Barcelona (€62.5m)
Spotify is replacing Rakuten as the club's main shirt sponsor and, while specifics have not been disclosed, it is reported to be a slight upgrade in financial terms.
It is also a four-year deal, which means it will ultimately be worth around €270million to the club. A significant sum for sure, but since Barcelona are a club who resisted the temptation to have a shirt sponsor at all until relatively recently, we should cut them some slack.
2. Paris Saint-Germain (€65m)
PSG have just started a three-year shirt sponsorship deal with Qatar Airlines, who replace French hospitality group Accor on the front of their shirts.
To be honest, PSG had things pretty good with Accor too, and while the Qatar Airlines deal is believed to be slightly higher, it essentially maintains the status quo.
Reports in France value it at between €60-70million per year for three years. Nice.
1. Real Madrid (€70m)
'New money' clubs such as Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain enjoy inflated sponsorship deals largely as a way for their owners to circumvent the Financial Fair Play rules, but that's not the case with Real Madrid.
