Turkish Airlines Secures £300 Million Liverpool Shirt Sponsorship Deal

Turkish Airlines Secures £300 Million Liverpool Shirt Sponsorship Deal

Turkish Airlines will become Liverpools new front-of-shirt sponsor from the start of the 2027/28 season, the Premier League giants announced on Tuesday, in a deal reported to be worth 300 million pounds over five years.

The agreement, valued at more than 60 million pounds per season, represents a significant increase from Liverpools current 50 million-pound-per-season deal with Standard Chartered, which has been the clubs front-of-shirt sponsor since 2010.

Record-Breaking Commercial Partnership

Liverpools new deal with Turkish Airlines is believed to be the most lucrative purely front-of-shirt agreement in Premier League history. While Arsenal and Manchester Citys agreements with Emirates and Etihad Airways respectively also involve stadium naming rights, Liverpools partnership stands out as a pure shirt sponsorship.

The club announced record revenues of more than 700 million pounds for the most recent financial year, making them the highest-placed Premier League club in the Deloitte Football Money League. This commercial success comes on the heels of their Champions League final appearance in Istanbul in 2005, a city with deep connections to Turkish Airlines.

Strategic Partnership Benefits

Chief commercial officer Ben Latty emphasized the significance of the partnership stating that the front of the shirt holds a special place in the history of Liverpool and that this partnership will build on strong foundations from their Champions League final win in Istanbul in 2005.

Turkish Airlines chief executive Ahmet Olmustur stated that this partnership brings together two global brands united by their international reach, commitment to excellence and ability to inspire millions of people around the world.

Turkeys national flag carrier, a pet soft-power project of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, boasts that it flies to 356 destinations in 132 countries. The company is controlled by the countrys wealth fund, which owns 49.1 percent of its shares.

Timeline and Transition

Standard Chartered will remain as the shirt sponsor for the current season before transitioning to a global partner role from the 2027/28 season onwards. The negotiations with Turkish Airlines reportedly began before 1892 Holdings, a consortium led by British-Indian millionaire businessman Amit Bhatia, the Liverpool vice-chairman, purchased a stake of around 38 percent in the club last month.

Liverpool were pioneers in English football sponsorship, being the first major English professional football club to have a shirt sponsor when Japanese electronics company Hitachi had its name displayed across the clubs strip back in 1979.

This landmark deal underscores Liverpools growing commercial appeal and Turkish Airlines ambition to expand its global brand presence through strategic sports partnerships.