Liverpool is in talks with banking firm Standard Chartered to extend and improve on a lucrative shirt sponsorship deal presently worth £20 million a year.
Less than two years into a four-year contract, the Merseyside club hopes to swiftly conclude negotiations to secure the partnership beyond the end of 2014.
Under the present terms Standard Chartered has been granted a period of exclusivity enabling it the option of prolonging its relationship with Liverpool and the club are confident they can better the arrangement which began in 2010.
The £80 million over the course of four years was a club record at the time, but it was agreed in 2009 – a year before it came into effect – when Liverpool were second in the Premier League and still part of Europe’s elite competition. The global economic downturn and the club’s deteriorating on-pitch performance have made securing sponsorship even more challenging since then.
Commercial revenues at Anfield have increased in recent years despite Liverpool falling out of the top four, but the well-documented pursuit of a stadium sponsor was abandoned after the club were unable to raise funds to move to Stanley Park.
A lack of Champions League football would seem to make investment in Anfield less attractive, and last season the furore over Luis Suárez’s refusal to shake hands with Manchester United's Patrice Evra prompted a statement from Standard Chartered expressing “disappointment” and “concerned” about how the racism controversy was being handled.
However, that does not appear to have left any lasting damage and Liverpool is confident a healthy relationship will be extended.
Club executives are also believe the lack of Champions League football will not have an unduly negative impact on negotiations because Standard Chartered is based in Asia where the Premier League holds such sway.
The evening kick-offs in Europe do not attract such a large television audience in places such as Singapore and Thailand because of the differing time zones.
No comments:
Post a Comment