The Premier League have rejected Chelsea's request to sign a sponsorship deal with Paramount Plus.
The Blues were in talks with the American subscription streaming service over a contract ahead of the 2023/24 season. However, after asking for permission over signing the deal, the Premier League have knocked back advances amid concerns it would upset the competition's broadcast partners.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the idea of Chelsea having Paramount Plus as a new sponsor is a non-starter by the Premier League as they deemed it would break competition rules. The Blues are said to be surprised by the league's decision as they were hoping to strike a mega-money deal with the company.
Now, Chelsea are in negotiations with gambling company Stake.com, despite the looming ban on betting organisations in the coming years. It was announced back in April that clubs will no longer be allowed to wear front-of-shirt betting sponsors from the 2026/27 season.
"Premier League clubs have today collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ matchday shirts, becoming the first sports league in the UK to take such a measure voluntarily in order to reduce gambling advertising," a statement read.
"The announcement follows an extensive consultation involving the League, its clubs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the Government’s ongoing review of current gambling legislation.
"The Premier League is also working with other sports on the development of a new code for responsible gambling sponsorship. To assist clubs with their transition away from shirt-front gambling sponsorship, the collective agreement will begin at the end of the 2025/26 season."
Chelsea have been looking for a permanent replacement for Three, whose three-season agreement ended this summer. They wished to end their partnership with the Blues following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government.
Any deal for Stake to come in would have to be short-term due to the rule change, although betting sponsors can be used on sleeve badges and on advertising boards. It is thought that the clubs supported the move to ban front-of-shirt betting sponsors in order to avoid government legislation banning it completely. Only Premier League clubs will be affected by the ban, due to concerns about financial hardship for EFL teams.
As for on pitch matters at Chelsea, they are set to be busy this summer preparing for the new season. Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as the club's new permanent manager in May and he is set to oversee a number of transfer activities, with a huge overhaul required.
Todd Boehly spent almost £600million on new players across his first two transfer windows and it simply did not work out as they finished in 12th. New arrivals such as Mykhaylo Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez, Wesley Fofana and Raheem Sterling have not quite hit the ground running as many would have hoped for.
Many players are going to have to be sold to balance the books, with N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic and Marc Cucurella amongst those on the chopping block.
