Standard Chartered sponsor kit general shirt (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Liverpool in talks with cryptocurrency firms to take over shirt sponsor deal

As Liverpool consider ending their shirt sponsorship with Standard Chartered, it has emerged that the club are in talks with cryptocurrency firms over a new deal.

The Reds have worn Standard Chartered on their shirts since 2010, but their current contract with the financial services company is due to expire in 2023.

Liverpool have now entered talks with various parties over a possible change in sponsor, with the prospect of improving on their £40 million-a-season terms.

According to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein, this has seen the club begin initial talks with firms in the cryptocurrency sector.

This includes a “crypto exchange firm” and a “blockchain platform,” though it is maintained that Standard Chartered could still extend their association with Liverpool.

Cryptocurrencies are seen in many sectors as the next step in financial progress, but it remains a hugely controversial subject due to the risk in trading and the environmental damage its production causes.

If Liverpool were to strike a deal with one such firm – Crypto.com, which will sponsor the 2022 World Cup, have been suggested elsewhere as a possible candidate – it would not be their first foray into the crypto world.

Last month, the club launched its first NFT collection, raising over £1 million from sales, though 95 percent of available tokens went unsold.

“Fans were consulted about the NFT sales,” Ornstein adds, “but it is understood the possibility of Liverpool partnering with a crypto sponsor has not yet been discussed with supporters.”

Talks are said to be ongoing, with a resolution sought within the next eight weeks, though strangely it is claimed that a deal would be would £35 million a year – which is lower than the existing deal with Standard Chartered.