Chelsea told to accept cut-price sponsorship deal as value dispute emerges: 'They've got the price wrong'
Chelsea must accept that the club's financial demands are stopping the Blues from finding a new front-of-shirt sponsor.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Blues' price tag of £50million is far too much at Stamford Bridge.
According to new research from an annual Premier League fair-market-value index, Chelsea's projected front-of-shirt sponsorship value has fallen from £50.3million to £33.6million.
Despite announcing their home kit for the 2026-27 campaign without a front-of-shirt sponsor, the Blues dispute this and are confident that their value remains closer to the £50m-mark.
Chelsea holding out for 'wrong price' over sponsorship deal
Todd Boehly's club are set to enter into a third successive year without a sponsor on the front of the shirt, with the Blues continuing to take a financial hit from the situation.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: "At the end of the day, all it is is the sponsor magazine, which is a sports sponsorship magazine, looking at what fair market value might be for one of these front-of-shirt sponsorships.
"They've obviously spoken to a number of industry insiders, but I don't think there's much science to it. I think it's quite finger in the air.
"It came out when they averaged it at £33.6million. £33.6m would be a good outcome for Chelsea right now, given everything that's happened. If somebody put 33.6 million quid on the table, I don't think they'd turn it down.
"Nobody has been prepared to pay £50million, £60million, whatever they've been trying to charge for the last three or four years. That tells you they've got the price wrong.
"And they're certainly not negotiating from a position of strength right now, given everything we talked about with all the other clubs that have got the vacancies and the fact they've got no European football.
"They've got a choice now. Chelsea fans will always say I'm talking nonsense, but the proof is in the pudding. They've had no major sponsor printed on the shirt for three or four years.
"They can either accept an offer from a partner that's closer to £30million and build from there if they can find somebody that wants it."
Has Levi Colwill already leaked Chelsea's next front-of-shirt sponsor?
Although the Blues have already announced their home kit for the 2026-27 campaign without a front-of-shirt sponsor, that is not to say that the club aren't in talks over a deal.
Before the kit was released, star centre-back Levi Colwill released a video on his social media, footage that sent supporters into a spiral about a potential new sponsor.
Many believed that they could see a Monster logo on the wall behind him, before the player quickly moved his camera and said: "I probably shouldn't have shown that" [The Sun].
Supporters are waiting anxiously to see which company will be taking up the majority of the shirt for the 2026-27 campaign, but an announcement is yet to be made by the Blues.