Kieran Maguire shreds Chelsea deal after £20m-a-year agreement – ‘common sense thrown aside’
Chelsea willing to sign “risky” deals with crypto companies shows a lack of “common sense” from the Premier League club.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about Chelsea’s commercial strategy with cryptocurrency companies.
Chelsea signed a record £20million-a-season sleeve sponsorship deal with Singapore-based crypto company WhaleFin last season, but saw their agreement end just seven months into their partnership.
The company, owned by parent company Amber, were involved with the FTX scandal and ended up cutting 300 jobs as well as their commercial deal with Chelsea.
The Blues are now searching for new sponsorship opportunities for the upcoming 2023/24 campaign, and haven’t ruled out signing another deal with a cryptocurrency company.
Maguire believes that Chelsea should avoid one-year commercial deals with crypto companies moving forward in order to secure longer-term investment.
“The ability of football clubs to have collective amnesia when it comes to risky agreements with crypto companies is indicative of the size of the cheque,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“Due diligence and common sense get thrown aside.
“We’ve seen it with Chelsea and their WhaleFin deal.
“The agreements look great in practice but the important thing for the clubs is to get the cash.
“Chelsea don’t want to end up in a similar position they find themselves in now where the deal is only a year long and they’re having to renegotiate every season.“
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