Staff Reporter.
Chelsea new home kit has been released without a front-of-shirt sponsor and the club has warned fans it won’t even be available to buy until after the season starts.
The Blues dropped official photos of several stars – both former and present – posing in their new jerseys for the upcoming season on Monday morning.
Alongside the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk and Reece James were Champions League-winning manager Roberto Di Matteo and Dennis Wise.
A shirt deal with telecommunications company Three was not renewed when it expired at the end of last season.
The Premier League blocked a deal with streaming service Paramount+, because of concerns about upsetting its broadcast rights holders.
Chelsea decided against a shirt sponsorship agreement with an online gambling company.
The club’s supporters’ trust had spoken out against such a partnership, although it is understood Chelsea had already ruled out a deal before that.
In April, the premier League announced that gambling sponsors would be withdrawn from the front of shirts by the end of the 2025-26 season.
Chelsea say the shirt will go on sale on the website and in their shop on 16 August, three days after their opening Premier League game against Liverpool. It will go on wide sale on 23 August.
The shirt itself is inspired by the increasingly-popular 90’s designs that are now a regular feature for big clubs in the Premier League.
Rivals Arsenal and Manchester United produced particularly popular kits last season drawing similar inspiration from the decade.
The club explains that the glory of the 1997-98 season – in which they won a League Cup and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup – is remembered by their new kit, with the golden Lion badge emblematic of ‘prestige and history’.