The 2019/2020 Premier League season will not finish in May, thus leaving Chelsea with a possible financial problem. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, football has been suspended indefinitely.
But there are plans to find a solution that suits all 20 Premier League clubs, but one that doesn’t involve declaring the season ‘null and void’ which means teams will be playing games long after Sunday, 17 May 2020.
That’s the date the Premier League season was supposed to end. However, the plan is to resume the competition in June which means Chelsea are likely have a £200m problem on their hands.
This is all in relation to the club’s shirt sponsorship. Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama Tyres will cease to appear on the club’s shirts in the 2020/21 campaign as their £40million-a-year deal – which was said to be worth £200million in full when the partnership began – comes to an end in May.
Three will then serve as their new official shirt sponsor.
But what does that mean for the current season? Will Chelsea have the same shirt but have a different sponsor before the Premier League season finally concludes? Or will they continue with Yokohama Tyres even after their partnership expires?
It certainly could be a nightmare scenario for the west London outfit.