Chelsea announce cryptocurrency firm WhaleFin as new shirt sleeve sponsors in £20m-a-year deal

Chelsea have announced cryptocurrency firm WhaleFin as their new shirt sleeve sponsors for the 2022/23 campaign.

The Blues confirmed on their official website in the early hours of Saturday morning that American billionaire Todd Boehly and his consortium had signed an agreement purchase the club, following the UK Government’s approval. 

He has partnered with fellow Dodgers owner Mark Walter, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss as well as investment firm Clearlake Capital. 

And following Boehly’s arrival in west London, the European champions have now confirmed a £20m-a-year deal with burgeoning group WhaleFin, who are set to replace South Korean car firm Hyundai as shirt sleeve sponsors next season.

WhaleFin is a digital asset platform owned by Amber Group, a company based in Singapore. 

The deal marks Chelsea’s first official move into the crypto market, weeks after Liverpool were linked with picking another such firm to replace their main shirt sponsor, Standard Chartered, and after Manchester United made a deal with blockchain group Tezos. 

It is also worth double the amount of their current package with Hyundai, who sealed a five-year deal worth £50million (£10million per year) with the west London club back in 2018.

After confirming their agreement with Amber Group on Thursday, Chelsea CEO Guy Lawrence said: ‘This is a hugely exciting partnership for the club, which aligns us with one of the most advanced digital asset companies in the world. 

‘As Amber Group continue to expand coverage of their platform globally, they will now have the ability to not only speak to the hundreds of millions of loyal Chelsea fans around the globe but also be seen by the billions who tune into the Premier League each season.’ 

Amber Group CEO Michael Wu also added: ‘Our partnership with Chelsea FC is a watershed moment as we embark on the next stage of our growth globally. With the beautiful game’s ability to rally a global audience regardless of culture, language and nationality, we are excited to showcase the full potential of digital assets to an international audience.

‘With a storied club history backed by a world-class team, Chelsea FC is a class act that we are proud to partner with, as we bring digitisation and crypto finance to global users. We are thrilled to be associated with one of the best teams in the English Premier League, and we look forward to unlocking new sporting experiences for football fans around the world.’ 

Government sanctions placed on Chelsea due to previous owner Roman Abramovich did not allow him to financially profit from ownership of the club. 

It is reported that this sponsorship deal was signed in January, before the Government sanctions came into force.

Cryptocurrency firms are staking large amounts of money in the attempt to develop their brands, with WhaleFin also paying around £35m a year to sponsor the shirts of Spanish side Atletico Madrid.

Amber Group was recently said to be in talks to raise new funds at a valuation of $10bn or more, with their backers including Temasek Holdings, Sequoia China and Tiger Global Management, three of the venture capital arena’s most prolific investors.

Chelsea are also thought to be considering replacing their main shirt sponsor Three.

Three were the first of the club’s sponsors to suspend their agreement when Abramovich was hit by sanctions, calling for their logo to be removed from players’ shirts and Stamford Bridge.

In the end that proved impossible, but Chelsea are already understood to be looking at alternative sponsors despite having one year left on their deal with Three.

Any replacement would have to be signed off by Boehly’s new ownership group, who could look to bring in new sponsors immediately or let Three see out the final year of their agreement.