- Three-year, UK£22.5m contract only signed in May 2019
- Report of early termination comes amid political tensions between China and UK
- One other Premier League club reportedly at risk of losing Chinese backer
Premier League club Southampton are reportedly searching for a new main sponsor amid growing uncertainty over their current three-year deal with Chinese firm LD Sports.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, LD Sports is set to walk away from its UK£7.5 million-a-season contract with the English top-flight soccer side two years early.
The deal, signed in May 2019, is said to include a break clause that could see the agreement terminated this summer, while it is also thought that LD Sports’ decision to end the arrangement has been ‘influenced by the political situation between China and the UK’.
Southampton, who released their new 2020/21 kits featuring LD Sports branding last month, are majority owned by Chinese businessman Jisheng Gao, who purchased 80 per cent of the club through his Lander Sports investment vehicle for a reported UK£200 million (US$259 million) in August 2017.
In March, The Times reported that Gao was looking to offload his stake in the club for around UK£250 million (US$322 million), but the Mail says LD Sports’ decision to part ways does not reflect the owner’s intentions ‘in any way’.
At the time of its announcement, Southampton’s tie-up with LD Sports was touted as the ‘biggest sponsorship deal in the club’s history’, but doubts were immediately raised when it emerged that the company, which was described by the club as ‘a brand-new sports content, marketing and entertainment platform’, had yet to launch.
According to the Mail, one other Premier League team is now at risk of losing its deal with a Chinese sponsor ahead of the new season, while Championship club Blackburn Rovers have also confirmed that their agreement with Chinese gambling operator 10Bet has been terminated a year early.
Premier League club Southampton are reportedly searching for a new main sponsor amid growing uncertainty over their current three-year deal with Chinese firm LD Sports.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, LD Sports is set to walk away from its UK£7.5 million-a-season contract with the English top-flight soccer side two years early.
The deal, signed in May 2019, apparently includes a break clause that could see the agreement terminated this summer, while it is also thought that LD Sports’ decision to end the arrangement has been ‘influenced by the political situation between China and the UK’.
Southampton, who released their new 2020/21 kits featuring LD Sports branding last month, are majority owned by Chinese businessman Jisheng Gao, who purchased 80 per cent of the club through his Lander Sports investment vehicle for a reported UK£200 million (US$259 million) in August 2017.
In March, The Times reported that Gao was looking to offload his stake in the club for around UK£250 million (US$322 million), but the Mail says LD Sports’ decision to part ways does not reflect the owner’s intentions ‘in any way’.
At the time of its announcement, Southampton’s tie-up with LD Sports was touted as the ‘biggest sponsorship deal in the club’s history’, but doubts were immediately raised when it emerged that the company, which was described by the club as ‘a brand-new sports content, marketing and entertainment platform’, had yet to launch.
According to the Mail, one other Premier League team is now at risk of losing its deal with a Chinese sponsor ahead of the new season, while Championship club Blackburn Rovers have also confirmed that their agreement with Chinese gambling operator 10Bet has been terminated a year early.
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