Chelsea seal £50m Samsung deal

Rumours over the weekend indicating that Chelsea Football Club were about to sign a £50m sponsorship deal with a well known electronics firm have proved correct. Today the club completed the biggest club sponsorship deal in English football as they announced a five-year contract with electronics firm Samsung worth just over £50m

Samsung will take over from Emirates, whose current deal with Chelsea is worth £4m a year, on June 1, with the logo 'Samsung Mobile' appearing on shirts for the club's centenary season.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon declared: "We are absolutely delighted to have Samsung Electronics as our new official club sponsor.

"The company is one of the world's largest brand names and we are excited about what it can offer Chelsea. There is a great synergy between the two brands in terms of recent dramatic growth and success, levels of performance and market targets.

"As a company, it has already shown a strong commitment to sport through sponsorship of the Olympic Games and in football through its ownership of the Suwon Bluewings, the champions of Asia. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship."

Sponsorship activities between Chelsea and Samsung Electronics will run in the UK and across Europe and Asia, as well as in North and South America.

The agreement was signed today at Stamford Bridge by Kenyon and In-Soo Kim, president of Samsung Electronics Europe.

Chelsea's deal eclipses Manchester United's four-year contract with Vodafone, which is worth £36m, as well as Arsenal's new tie-up with Emirates from next season.

Source: The Guardian

*Related links:*

* Chelsea target global supremacy with game's biggest sponsorship * Kenyon promises Blues will be in black * Blue is the colour, domination the game for Chelsea