Chelsea Finally Found a Shirt Sponsor, But What Teams Have Been Sponsor less?

Chelsea Finally Found a Shirt Sponsor, But What Teams Have Been Sponsor less?

After the end of the sponsor deal with Infinite Athletic, Chelsea has spent the last few months without a shirt sponsor and were hoping that the newly earned title of ‘World Champions’ would’ve got them some more interest for sponsors. However, that hasn’t necessarily been the case. Even now with the deal that would see Oracle become their front of shirt sponsor, it doesn’t seem to be a long term one with it in fact been reported as another 1 season sponsor.

Chelsea are now close to announcing the new front-of-shirt sponsor - Oracle… ✅ pic.twitter.com/wh6SjRKnrZ

— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) November 15, 2025

Why does Chelsea need a sponsor?

Chelsea needs a sponsor as it is one of the main ways that clubs in the topflight of football makes money with Chelsea’s main competitors making at most £67.5 million at most and £40 million at the least per year. This money is something that is vital for the clubs to buy new players and expand but also to help them comply with PSR. The PSR fact is also a vital reason for why Chelsea needs a shirt sponsor as it’s something they’ve struggled with over the last 2 years.

This is why over the last 18 months Chelsea has been looking high and low for a shirt sponsor; however, it looks like the prices that they are asking for the sponsor might be a bit too high; being reported as £60-£65 million a season.

What other famous clubs haven’t had a sponsor?

While Chelsea has definitely become one of the most well-known clubs without a sponsor, they certainly aren’t the only clubs that don’t have a shirt sponsor, and it isn’t something new to clubs with many great clubs historically not having had a shirt sponsor. So, what other clubs haven’t had a shirt sponsor?

Lazio – 2023-now

The last sponsor that Lazio saw was in the 22/23 season where the deal with Binance expired. However, in recent times they have found the need to find one as quick as they can due to a result in financial strains. They are also hoping that with a shirt sponsor they can deal with the current block on registering any new players.

The main things stopping the Italian club is similar to Chelsea, they want a lucrative deal something that their recent performances and results isn’t worthy of currently as they sit 9th in the Serie A. The other issue is that they want to keep the aesthetic of a clean shirt. Something that they view having a sponsor would ruin. However, they might have to bite the bullet and get one if their financial figures don’t change.

Roma – 2025-now

With the next team we don’t have to go far, staying in the capital of Italy with Roma. The last time Roma had a front of shirt sponsor was last season where they saw Riyadh Season take the front of shirt sponsor. The main issue that they have found is finding a new long-term sponsor. Since 2023 Roma haven’t had a long-term sponsor but have found 2 ones to cover while they look for one. In 2023 the old sponsor DigitalBits found themselves unable to pay for the sponsor, so the deal was terminated and that has now caused issues for Roma as they are unable to get a new sponsor to replace them for more than a single season.

Sevilla - 2023-2024

Sevilla went around 18 months without a front of shirt sponsor at the start of the 2023/24 season. Once again like Roma they went this time without a sponsor as a result of not planning a replacement for the current one that they had. When the deal with Degiro ended, Sevilla didn’t have anything ready for a replacement and then spent the next season without a sponsor before finding a new one for this season with Midea. Once again, a club has been damaged financially for a season as a result of poor planning when it comes to the replacement of a sponsor.

Real Betis – 2013-2015

Real Betis were another team that found themselves scrambling for a replacement for a shirt sponsor after the end of the old one. In 2013 they saw the end of the deal with Cirsa and struggled to find a replacement for them. The main issue that they faced was finding someone who would be willing to pay the amount that they were asking for. This proved to be harming for them. Unlike in England where the league and broadcast rewards can help clubs out of financial struggles, Spanish teams don’t get as much luxury. This means that Betis not having that sponsor for those 2 years damaged what they could do especially in the transfer window without breaking any rules.

Finally, in November 2015 they landed a new shirt sponsor with UED sports to end the 2 years without a sponsor. With another issue for the Spanish club delaying the new sponsor being the length of time that it took for the club to agree on the terms of the sponsor.

Barcelona - 1899-2006

This is an interesting case for a club not having a front of shirt sponsor and something that can now be seen as damaging the club. The Spanish giants spent 107 years without ever having a front of shirt sponsor and the main reason is the ethics in the club. The club wanted to show that it was more than a club and didn’t want to do like many clubs were doing by giving into commercialisation. The Spanish club wanted to prove that a team could still be one of the best in the world by just existing as a team rather than a business like many were becoming with shirt sponsors.

However, while this worked for those 107 years in 2006, they had to get a shirt sponsor and now in 2025, the years without a sponsor is hurting them as they have found themselves in massive financial issues. This is shown by the lack of spending in transfer windows and even when they do spend them struggling to register the players.

The importance in modern day football of a front of shirt sponsor can’t be overlooked and this is shown by these 6 teams looking high and low to find a new one and if they can’t, running a high risk of danger without one, especially financially.