Sources: Landmark crypto deal on the cards after £20m Chelsea warning
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is among the firms approached by Uefa about a possible sponsorship deal despite warnings from industry experts about the plight of WhaleFin’s deal with Chelsea, sources have told Football Insider.
Chelsea signed a Premier League-record £20m-a-year sleeve sponsor deal with digital asset platform WhaleFin in May last year, but the partnership is set to be terminated several years ahead of schedule at the end of the season.
WhaleFin, whose front-of-shirt deal with Atletico Madrid is also being culled, is downsizing its sponsorship portfolio due to its exposure to the FTX scandal.
It is believed that the cryptocurrency exchange owed $8billion dollars at the time of its collapse, with up to $2bn in consumer funds unaccounted for.
Experts such as Football Insider‘s resident finance guru Kieran Maguire have repeatedly warned football clubs and bodies about the dangers of getting involved in the crypto racket, citing a lack of regulation and market volatility.
But sources have told this site that Uefa have reached out to Binance among other crypto and financial service platforms about a possible deal to sponsor the Europa League or Europe Conference League.
It is not known whether Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, or any of the other companies canvassed were receptive to the preliminary proposal.
Binance already has a bulging football sponsorship inventory having partnered with Cristiano Ronaldo, the football federations of Argentina and Brazil, as well as a range of blue-chip club sides.
Crypto.com pulled out of what would have been a record £428m deal to replace Gazprom as the Champions League’s primary sponsor in September last year because of concerns about increased industry regulation.
And while the sector has seen some retrenchment in football sponsorship, blockchain-powered Sorare signed a £120m deal with the Premier League in January.
Uefa is conducting the search for Europa League and Europa Conference League sponsors through Team Marketing, the agency which represents the governing body in commercial matters.
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