‘Enormous’ – Stefan Borson drops verdict as Chelsea close in on sponsor deal
Chelsea could now be closing in on a new front-of-shirt sponsorship deal after a significant update has emerged.
Chelsea have started another campaign without a shirt sponsor, having failed to land a long-term partnership over the past couple of years.
Chelsea have set a £60million asking price after holding talks with various parties in recent months.
The Chelsea Chronicle reported on 14 November Oracle now looks set to become the Blues’ new shirt sponsor.
The news outlet said the deal with the American multinational software firm is likely to be announced on the eve of Chelsea’s game against Barcelona on 25 November or Arsenal on 30 November.
Chelsea set to agree ‘very odd’ deal after shirt sponsor leak
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Oracle is an “enormous” company as he insisted the reports around the deal are likely to be true.
It has been suggested Chelsea could land £60m from the deal with Oracle, but that is purely speculation at this point.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “It’s all very odd because I don’t know how it would have come out. It’s not the sort of thing that tends to get leaked in the way that it did. I still have a level of scepticism and it seems very precise not to be true.
“You would think that it’s true based on that alone because it’s a really strange thing for somebody to make up or to write about without very good guidance from either Chelsea, Oracle or the agency involved, so my gut feel is that it’s true.
“But on the face of it, it doesn’t seem to be a normal deal because Oracle are enormous and they’re not the sort of organisation that takes a tactical cheap deal for Chelsea’s front of shirt for half a season. That just doesn’t fit into big company marketing plans.
“And in any event, it’s not a B2C company. It’s a B2B player. So again, is it really being on a front of shirt a sensible use of marketing spend? I don’t know. I mean, it’s pretty strange.”
Oracle, which is co-owned by American billionaire Larry Ellison, has a market cap of £432billion.
Chelsea well placed to agree major shirt sponsor deal
Chelsea have been in talks with multiple parties over their shirt sponsorship in recent months.
Borson insisted a deal with Oracle would give Enzo Maresca’s side a better chance of agreeing a long-term partnership.
“If they can fill it for half a season with a major brand, that’s great,” said Borson.
“I mean, at least it frames it when they’re going out because they’ll also concurrently be having conversations about a longer-term deal either with Oracle or with other people.
“I think to showcase the kit with a very significant global brand like Oracle is positive to them in the pitch process because it shows other potential partners that another very major brand was prepared to take the shirts and felt that it was value for money, so I think that helps.”
Chelsea’s latest published accounts for 2023-24 revealed their turnover fell from £512m in 2022-23 to £468m despite their commercial revenue increasing from £210m to £225m across the same period.
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