Real Madrid shirt is the most valuable shirt in the football industry, as Merengues receive €70 million per year from his sponsor Emirates, according to Sport Business.
Emirates airline will pay a total of €420 million to Real Madrid through the six-year contract that will expire in the end of the next season (2022-2023).
Emirates is one of the main sponsors in football, holding also deals with other big names in the European football, including Arsenal (€45 million per season) and Olympique Lyon (€22 million).
While sponsoring a club appears to be an economic decision, in order to gain public visibility in some region or industry, it also has to do with the community both club and sponsor are envolved.
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And this could explain why German carkmaker Volkswagen pays €20 million to Wolfsburg in a deal valued at €320 million through the multi-year contract. It’s one of the biggest contract in terms of duration, from 2013 to 2029.
Bayern Munich holds the third most valuable shirt in this ranking. Deutsche Telekom pays to the German team €45 million per season, as the seven-year sponsorship deal giving a total of €315 million to Bayern.
Five English clubs domination
The ranking has 5 English clubs, with Tottenham securing a total sum of €313 million from the sponsorship deal with AIA Group and Manchester United receiving €274 million from the new deal with Team Viewer.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea have also lucrative deals with Emirates, Standard Chartered and Third, respectively.
Italian Juventus is 9th in the ranking, as the deal with Jeep (carmaker Fiat) is worthed €135 million (€45 million per season). Lyon is the last on the list, receiving €22 million per year from Emirates.
One might be surprised with Barcelona for not be in this ranking.
Rakuten is Barcelona’s main shirt sponsor, but they’re about to enter the final year of their contract.
The annual figure went down from €55 million plus add-ons to €30 million plus add-ons. Then, in summer 2022, that deal will have concluded.
While Barça is in negotiations with new brands, it’s hard to see the new sponsor paying the same amount of money this time, after the departure of stars like Neymar, Suarez and Messi.
Top 10 Biggest Shirt Sponsorship Deals in Football
# Club – Main Shirt Sponsor Total (Annual Value) Duration
1. Real Madrid – Emirates €420 million (€70 million) 2017-2023
2. Wolfsburg – Volkswagen €320 million (€20 million) 2013-2029
3. Bayern Munich – Deutsche Telekom €315 million (€45 million) 2016-2023
4. Tottenham Hotspur – AIA Group €313 million (€39 million) 2019-2027
5. Manchester United – TeamViewer €274 million (€55 million) 2021-2026
6. Arsenal – Emirates €224 million (€45 million) 2019-2024
7. Liverpool – Standard Chartered €183 million (€46 million) 2019-2023
8. Chelsea – Three €142 million (€47 million) 2020-2023
9. Juventus – Jeep €135 million (€45 million) 2021-2024
10. Olympique Lyon – Emirates €110 million (€22 million) 2020-2025
