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Liverpool Signs New Jersey Sposnor

Liverpool's search for a jersey sponsor to replace Carlsberg, its sponsor for the past 18 years is over. The club has signed a new five year deal with London based bank, Standard Chartered, for four years, for what is believed to be 80 million pounds a year, equal to the deal Manchester United has had with AIG, the recognized highest jersey deal in soccer. The deal is set to begin with the 2010 season.

Carlsberg had been given the first chance to continue its sponsorship but would not meet Liverpool's price. The two North American owners of the club, the perpetually feuding George Gillett and Tom Hicks, needed to get the highest jersey sponsorship they could possibly obtain in order to assist paying down the massive debt they incurred in buying Lliverpool a couple of years ago. The strain of the Liverpool debt, and the added stress of the global financial crisis, has caused the owners to sell off, or attempt to sell off, pieces of their North American sports holdings. Gillett has sold the Montreal Canadiens, while Hicks has the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers up for sale.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on September 14, 2009 (boomark / email).