Chelsea and adidas have agreed to a 10-year contract extension worth $450M, according to the PA. Chelsea announced its "biggest deal to date" on Friday after CEO Ron Gourlay negotiated the agreement directly with adidas CEO Herbert Hainer. An industry insider with knowledge of the deal confirmed that it was worth $45M a year, or around £290M ($447.4M) in total until '23. It is significantly more than the reported £18M ($27.8M) a season "received from Samsung for shirt sponsorship," which means the Blues "are less reliant" on billionaire Owner Roman Abramovich and assists in the adherence to UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations (PA, 6/21). In London, Neil Ashton reported Chelsea’s negotiating power "has been strengthened by their increasing supporter base around the world after their Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich in 2012." The club has huge support in north Africa and the U.S, something that "proved to be a huge bargaining chip for the club" in its negotiations. Gourlay and Hainer "have been discussing the deal for months" (DAILY MAIL, 6/21). Chelsea said in a statement, "This is the biggest deal to date Chelsea FC has signed with a partner" (London DAILY MIRROR, 6/21).
