Abramovich’s Chelsea Paid $81.5 Million to Terminate Adidas Deal
- London soccer club ended accord to sign bigger Nike contract
- Payoffs to former coaching staff cost Blues 31 million pounds
Diego Costa, right, of Chelsea, celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal with his teammate Marcos Alonso during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Stoke City in London, on Dec. 31, 2016.
Photographer: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty ImagesRussian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s London soccer team Chelsea paid 67 million pounds ($81.5 million) to end a long-term apparel deal with sporting-goods provider Adidas AG so it could switch to a more lucrative agreement with the German company’s U.S. rival Nike Inc., club accounts published Friday show.
The one-time expense and a further 8.3 million pounds to pay off the contracts of former manager Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff led to the club’s annual loss widening by almost 50 million pounds to 70.6 million pounds. Chelsea last year broke the contract with Adidas six years early to sign a 15-year, 900 million-pound deal with Nike, which begins next season.