Chelsea have terminated a sponsorship deal with Oman Air in unusual circumstances. The club had announced the partnership, valued at around £2 million ($2.5m) per year, in July. However, the newspaper reports that the deal has now been terminated without any explanation provided.
Chelsea are currently without several sponsors for the next season. They lack a front-of-shirt sponsor, as well as sleeve and airline sponsors, the latter two of which have become increasingly lucrative for many Premier League clubs.
Allegedly, the issue originated from Oman Air rather than Chelsea, but neither party has made an official statement.
Oman Air
Although the deal was not immensely valuable to the club, Chelsea must comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations after reporting a £90m ($115m) pre-tax loss for the 12-month period ending June 30.
Rivals believe the club needs to raise £100m ($128m) through player sales to comply this summer; failure to do so could result in a points deduction.
Chelsea Team (Via Premier League/Twitter)
Chelsea have been in poor form this season and may struggle to meet FFP regulations if they fail to qualify for Europe.
Currently, they are 11th with 36 points, trailing fourth-placed Aston Villa by 19 points, making Champions League qualification for next season highly unlikely.
Chelsea’s next match is on Monday evening against Newcastle. Following that, they face Leicester in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, leaving Mauricio Pochettino and his team with a chance to still secure some silverware this season.
