Adidas and Chelsea to part company

IN what is said to have been by mutual agreement, Chelsea will not have their kit supplied by Adidas after the end of next season and provided they pay what could be a substantial amount to buy out the remaining years of their contract, they will then be able to negotiate a deal with a new supplier.

When they signed the latest deal with the German company, said to be worth £300 million (€390 million) over 10 years it was suggested this was the best kit sponsorship deal in the Premier League but since then, Adidas has signed Manchester United reportedly for more than double this amount and with the poor performance of the Chelsea team this year, they were probably happy to allow the club to leave.

So much money is now involved in sponsorship of this type that despite the fact that the Chelsea buy out will probably add up to 10 per cent to Adidas profits, any new contract, possibly with Nike should show a significant profit to the London club.