WHY DO CHELSEA HAVE 3 ON THEIR CHELSEA.

 

WHY DO CHELSEA HAVE 3 ON THEIR CHELSEA.

Chelsea may have been one of the wealthiest clubs for a long time, but their situation has changed since Roman Abramovich's assets were frozen by the government. Find out here why the Blues continue to have the Three sponsor in their jersey.

 

When it comes to the richest clubs in world soccer, Chelsea may have been one of the first teams to come up to mind - until now. The Blues have enjoyed a long period of wealth under billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, but the outlook has been different over the last few weeks.

Things
have changed for the Premier League club following the Russia invasion of Ukraine, as the british government sanctioned Abramovich by freezing his assets due to his ties to Vladimir Putin.

That decision has inevitably taken a toll on Chelsea's finances as well, as sponsors have tried to distance themselves from the Blues and their owners' links to the Russian government. Shirt sponsor Three has not only decided to suspend payments but it also requested to be removed from the jerseys. But why do Chelsea continue to play with a 3 in their shirt?

For those who need context, Three is a telecommunications company that sponsors Chelsea's jerseys in a deal that, according to Goal, brings in about $52 million per season to the club's finances.

As many sponsors, however, Three decided to put payments on hold while the club's current owners are linked to Putin's government. But Chelsea continue to wear 3 in their jersey because they don't have the funds to change all their uniforms.

The club is in a very delicate financial situation now so it has to prioritize to spend on those things that cannot be overlooked. So, despite they are not receiving money for wearing the Three logo in their jerseys, they can't afford to remove it from their shirts right now.

But there has been uncertainty over Three's position ahead of the 2022/23 kit launch which is expected in July. However, it is now being reported that they will remain for at least another season. Three's deal with Chelsea is believed to be worth around £40m a year.

Chelsea's three kits - home, away and third - have all been pictured ahead of launch with the design and colour scheme revealed.

The home strip is all blue with a white/turquoise neckline.

The away strip is mainly white with four teal hoops, with the official colour scheme noted as white, chlorine blue and college navy.

The third strip combines a sesame gold base with black and orange.

Chelsea are likely to play in their new strip for next season for the first time during pre-season when they head to America for their United States tour where they will face Club America, Charlotte FC and Arsenal as they head from west to east next month.

The kit and sponsorship saga will be the least of Thomas Tuchel's worries as he focuses on a rebuild of his squad this summer which is set to see him backed with £200m in the transfer window.