Chelsea announce mega shirt sponsorship deal

Chelsea announce a five-year deal with The Yokohama Rubber Company

• The Japanese firm will be shirt sponsors at the start of the 2015/16 season
• It's the second highest deal in English football behind Manchester United
• It's double the amount of their current 10-year deal with Samsung

Chelsea have announced The Yokohama Rubber Company as their new official shirt partner in a near £40million-a-year agreement which vindicates owner Roman Abramovich holding out for this mega deal.

The five-year contract is the second highest kit endorsement ever signed by an English club – only behind Manchester United’s £53m agreement with Chevrolot – and is more than double the annual value of Chelsea’s 10-year partnership with Samsung, which expires at the end of the season.

Chelsea had a £25m offer from Turkish Airlines on the table for months , but demanding Abramovich wanted a lot more. The Yokohama contract leapfrogs Chelsea above Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in the shirt sponsorship table as well as helping with UEFA financial fair play rules.

Yokohama Rubber Mr Nagumo with Jose Mourinho during the announcement of Chelsea's New Shirt Sponsor

Mr Katsuragawa and Mr Nagumo with the Chelsea boss and chairman Bruce Buck after the announcement

Chelsea captain John Terry was at Stamford Bridge following the news of the lucrative deal

It is also a notable triumph for Chelsea’s commercial chief Christian Purslow , the former Liverpool managing director, brought in last October after the departure of Ron Gourlay to re-structure Chelsea’s commercial department and find that big-money shirt sponsor.

Purslow’s first move was to bring in outside agency HTH, formed by two ex-Manchester United commercial executives, to help in the hunt which has reaped huge rewards.

Yokohama, who manufacture tyres, also sponsor NBA teams Boston Celtic and the San Antonio Spurs. Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said: ‘It is an absolute pleasure to welcome Yokohama as our new Official Shirt Partner and we look forward to a successful relationship with them.

The deal with The Yokohama Rubber Company will begin at the start of the 2015/16 season

The new lucrative endorsement is double the amount of the clubs current sponsors Samsung

‘Chelsea and Yokohama are a perfect fit. Both are global organisations with a focus on performance and innovation, as well as having huge ambition and an unwavering culture of success.

‘We believe that Yokohama will play a key role in helping us drive our global expansion in international markets such as the US, where they have operated with distinction for many years. Also, of course, Chelsea having such an esteemed and historic Japanese company as our partner enables us to accelerate our development in their home market too.

‘We are also looking forward to working with Yokohama on our community projects around the world through the Chelsea Foundation, when together we can use the power of sport as a force for good.

‘I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Samsung, with whom we have had a successful and rewarding relationship since 2005. Chelsea has demonstrated through that 10-year partnership that we can play a critical role in helping our partners achieve their global growth objectives. We look forward to accomplishing similar success with Yokohama.’

Diego Costa will soon be wearing the Japanese firms logo on his Chelsea shirt