Chelsea seem to be dealing with one problem after another since last season. Their performance last season was so horrible that they ended the season in 12th position in the league table. They were quite good in the pre-season campaign. However, the start of the season is not going well for them. The new issue Chelse owner Todd Boehly is facing now is their bid for ‘Infinite Athlete’ as their new shirt sponsor. Apparently, the Premier League are doing their ‘due diligence’ which has led to the deal remaining in limbo.
Chelsea are playing wearing blank shirts with no sponsors since their pre-season campaign this summer. They are the first of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ to be starting the season without a shirt sponsor. They recently bid to have ‘Infinite Athlete’ as their new shirt sponsor. However, that deal is reportedly in limbo now with the Premier League doing their ‘due diligence’ into the deal under the rules of their ‘fair market value’ rules. Apparently, the brand was created not even a week before Chelsea announced the deal.
Additionally, the brand company wrote down their estimated turnover to be around £12 million. Whereas, their deal with Chelsea is apparently worth around £40 million. Additionally, ‘Infinite Athlete’ were rebranded only recently following the merger between two firms Biocore and Ex Machina. One of the major investors of ‘Infinite Athlete’ is the investment firm Silver Lake. This investment firm also invests in a company called Fanatics. Now, reportedly, Chelsea’s co-owner Clearlake Capital have previously invested millions of dollars in that Fanatics company.
As a result, several doubts are seeing the light of day. This also brings up a few questions for the Premier League who could refuse to give the green light for the deal to go through. As a result, Chelsea might have to play the entire season wearing their blank shirt. This could be disastrous following the financial setbacks they have been suffering for the past season. The situation that led to the departure of Chelsea’s previous owner, Roman Abramovich left them in a £121 million loss.
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