why don't chelsea have a sponsor

Chelsea currently do not have a front-of-shirt sponsor because they are prioritizing a long-term deal worth significantly more than past agreements. After their previous sponsor Infinite Athlete's deal expired, Chelsea have been holding out for a new sponsorship deal in the range of £60 million to £65 million per season, boosted by their Champions League qualification and FIFA Club World Cup victory. Talks have involved potential sponsors like Riyadh Air, a Saudi Arabian airline, but no official agreement has been reached yet. The club is the only Premier League team without a main shirt sponsor for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons so far, partly due to their desire to secure a bigger, long-term contract rather than a quick, smaller deal. Additionally, regulations and commercial strategies also complicate short-term sponsorship deals. For example, FIFA's Club World Cup rules make it difficult to use short-term sponsors just for that tournament. Chelsea has also avoided gambling sponsors on the front of the shirt, aligning with Premier League-wide moves to phase out gambling front-of-shirt sponsorships by the 2025-26 season. In summary, Chelsea's current lack of a shirt sponsor is a strategic choice driven by their ambition to secure a high-value deal, influenced by their recent on-field successes and market factors, rather than an absence of interest from sponsors.