Premier League: Yokohama Rubber will replace Samsung as Chelsea shirt sponsor for €55m per year

The Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama Rubber has replaced the Korean group Samsung as the shirt sponsor to Chelsea FC (Barclays Premier League) for five seasons (2015-16 to 2019-20), announced the club on 26/02/2015.

The partnership is presented by the club as "one of the biggest shirt sponsorships ever signed". Several British media outlets estimate the contract at £40m per year (€55m). This would mean that the Japanese company is paying more than double the amount of the Samsung contract (€21m per season). "Today's agreement launches the club into a new era of innovative commercial partnerships. This will underpin Chelsea’s strategy to be one of Europe’s leading football clubs with a self-financing model which is fully compliant with the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules," added the club. Turkish Airlines were also negotiating with the club to replace Samsung.

The record contract for Chelsea is close to that which was concluded between the American automobile brand Chevrolet and Manchester United FC, which is for an annual amount between €51m-€58m for the 2014-2021 period.

"We…