Chelsea 'strike £20m-a-year' shirt sponsorship deal with cryptocurrency firm

Chelsea are expected to announced a £20million-per-year shirt sponsorship deal with cryptocurrency group WhaleFin in the coming days.

The Blues are currently looking for new sponsors after losing lucrative deals with Three, Hyundai, Zapp and Parimatch in March due to Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK government for allegedly having ties with Vladimir Putin, something he denies.

Russian president Putin ordered his troops to invade neighbouring Ukraine in February and a violent war has raged since. The sanctions imposed on Abramovich mean Chelsea are not allowed to negotiate new contracts in the fear it could bolster the oligarch's wealth.

Yet Abramovich is close to selling the London outfit. A consortium led by US businessman Todd Boehly has agreed a deal to takeover the club and it is expected to be completed by the end of the month, subject to Premier League and government approval.

As such, it's believed Chelsea are negotiating new sponsorship deals ahead of Boehly's takeover. As reported by Sky News, the Blues have agreed a shirt-sleeve contract with WhaleFin - a digital asset platform owner by Singapore-based company the Amber Group.

It's claimed the deal could be announced as early as Thursday morning, despite Boehly's takeover not expected to be completed for another couple of weeks. The WhaleFin logo will appear on Chelsea's home, away and alternate shirts from next season onwards.

The deal is thought to have been signed in January, several weeks before Abramovich was sanctioned by Boris Johnson and his colleagues. That will allow the Blues to announce their latest partnership before the club's new owners come into power.

The agreement will also be Chelsea's first foray into the cryptocurrency