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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Paul Gorst

FSG insiders proved right as Liverpool seal £200m deal with Standard Chartered

For fans of a certain vintage, the name Carlsberg will always be synonymous with the Liverpool shirt, while to some, the brand Crown Paints will evoke similar memories.

But for supporters of 21st century Liverpool, that honour must now go to Standard Chartered; a logo that has almost become one to define the Fenway Sports Group era at Anfield.

A new four-year contract, that begins at the start of next season, was officially made public in Singapore on Thursday morning will take the financial services up to 17 seasons as Liverpool's main sponsors and with a healthy working relationship clearly still flourishing, there would be no surprise if their name was to continue adorning red shirts for over two decades.

READ MORE: Liverpool sign new Standard Chartered shirt deal at 'much higher' value

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The club's first-ever shirt sponsorship deal was a revolutionary one at the time. The late Pete Robinson, the venerated former chief executive, was the architect behind the idea in the late 1970s and a three-year deal was struck with Hitachi, the Japanese technology company, who paid £50,000 a year for the honour.

As a result of the agreement, Liverpool became the first club in England to have a shirt sponsor and while the move was likely viewed as a controversial one over 40 years ago, it was one that blazed a trail for the rest of the industry to follow on these shores.

Since those terms ended in 1982, the Reds have had a further four sponsors, proving, if anything, that their relationship with the companies who have paid for the privilege of having their name on those famous shirts have been strong ones.

The general message for would-be sponsors is a simple one, in essence: an agreement with Liverpool is a lengthy one that will keep your brand visible on the front of one of the very biggest football clubs' shirts in the world. Crown Paints (1982-88), Candy (88-92 and Carlsberg (92-2010) all followed on from Hitachi, prior to Standard Chartered's unveiling back in 2010.

It's Carlsberg's 18-year association that has spanned the longest and the Danish brewers are still connected to the Reds to this day, supplying the official beer of Anfield on match-days.

But is the latest agreement with the London-based company that will break new ground at Anfield and help the Reds keep pace on the pitch as they aim to outlast rivals like Manchester City, whose financial power almost knows no bounds.

The most recent deal with Standard Chartered, signed in 2018, was worth an annual £40m, but the renewed terms are understood to be set at significantly more, meaning the new deal is the biggest ever at Anfield.

The overall figure is believed to be worth upwards of £50m a year, meaning Liverpool will earn £200m from shirt sponsorship over the course of their agreement with Standard Chartered. In an age where no stone is left unturned in pursuit of revenue growth, this represents a sizable victory for CEO Billy Hogan.

“This is a hugely significant partnership for LFC and I could not be prouder to confirm a four-year extension to our already long and successful partnership with Standard Chartered," said Mr Hogan.

“We have been on an incredible journey together and Standard Chartered’s support has been a key driver in our most recent successes, both on and off the pitch, with their loyalty and commitment to Liverpool Football Club.

“Our partnership has been able to thrive because of our shared values and we look forward to continuing to work together to help and support our communities and supporters around the world.”

Speak to anyone within the FSG circle and they will talk about the 'virtuous circle' they are constantly aiming to use to their advantage. The biggest sponsorship agreement in club history is indicative of exactly how that works.

For example, Liverpool's on-field success last season - when they came closer than any other team before them to sweeping the board and winning the quadruple, while also lifting both domestic cups - has inevitably led to increased interest from companies across the world.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are a big deal in the football and wider sports world at present and organisations are desperate to get in-league with the flourishing 'LFC brand'.

"Whether it's ourselves at Liverpool or across the Atlantic with the other properties that FSG own, it's really about trying to create sustainability in the way that we operate with the organisation but both sides work hopefully in synchronicity with one another," Hogan told the ECHO in May.

"Those of us who aren't involved in coaching or managing or the sort of actual on-the-pitch efforts, there are those of us working off the pitch that support the club.

"Every person inside the club should ultimately take pride in lifting the trophies we have this season because everyone's effort is ultimately geared towards winning. So success on the pitch leads to success off the pitch and vice versa and so it's a great period at the club at the moment given the success we're having on the pitch."

Liverpool spoke with firms from the tourism and travel industry, media, electronics and emerging markets such as blockchain and cryptocurrency, before it was decided that the current arrangement was still the best fit, with an improved bottom line reflective of their progress since 2018.

The subsequent figures earned from those deals are then reinvested back into the club itself in an effort to sustain the success that has steadily flown towards Klopp's side since 2019. The virtuous circle in full effect.

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