Chelsea handed £60m setback as true cost of Todd Boehly's sponsorship problems laid bare

Chelsea are missing out on between £40million and £60million a year by not having a sponsor on the front of their shirts this season.

It is the second year in a row that the Blues have started the season without a front-of-shirt sponsor. Infinite Athlete did step up after the start of last season to be the front-of-shirt sponsor for around £40million, but there is still nothing adorning the front of this season's shirts.

Infinite Athlete penned a one-year deal before moving to sponsor the sleeve on the club's training tops for this season instead.

football.london understands that Chelsea are in talks with Qatar Airways and two other major airlines regarding a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal. But no deal has been signed off as yet.

And according to research by OLBG, Chelsea are missing out on huge sums of money.

Manchester City and Manchester United have the most lucrative front-of-shirt sponsorship deals in the Premier League, with Etihad and Snapdragon respectively paying out £60million a year.

Liverpool and Tottenham bring in £50million annually from Standard Chartered and AIA respectively, with Arsenal securing £40million a year from Emirates.

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Chelsea do get £8million a year from sleeve sponsors BingX, but that pales in comparison to the £20million United and City get from DXC and OKX respectively.

Chelsea have had numerous problems with shirt sponsorship since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital arrived at the club. The Blues initially agreed a deal with U.S streaming service Paramount Plus last year although that was blocked by the Premier League due to fears it could upset their current broadcast partners.

Gambling company Stake was then the next in line for the sponsor slot but severe supporter backlash led to discussions breaking down and the Blues pulling out of any agreement.

With Qatar Airways in talks over a deal it may not be too long before Chelsea have extra revenue coming in, but for now they are lagging behind their rivals at the top of the Premier League.