Turkish Airlines to replace Standard Chartered as Liverpool shirt sponsor in £300m deal

Turkish Airlines will become Liverpool’s new front-of-shirt sponsor from the beginning of the 2027-28 season in a five-year agreement worth £300m, according to the BBC.

Liverpool announced the partnership on Tuesday but did not disclose the value of the contract. The reported figure would amount to more than £60m per season, exceeding the £50m-a-year deal the club currently has with Standard Chartered.

Standard Chartered has been Liverpool’s main shirt sponsor since 2010 and will remain on the front of the shirt for the rest of the current season. From 2027-28, it will continue its relationship with the club as a “global partner”.

The agreement with Turkish Airlines is understood to be the most lucrative deal for a Premier League club involving only front-of-shirt sponsorship. Arsenal’s partnership with Emirates and Manchester City’s deal with Etihad Airways also include stadium naming rights.

Liverpool’s home ground, however, will continue to be known solely as Anfield. The six-time European champions have not attached a sponsor’s name to their stadium.

The club announced record revenue of more than £700m for its most recent financial year in February. Liverpool were also the highest-placed Premier League club in the Deloitte Football Money League.

Liverpool became the first major English professional football club to feature a shirt sponsor when Japanese electronics company Hitachi appeared on the team’s kit in 1979.

Talks with Turkish Airlines began before 1892 Holdings, a consortium led by British-Indian millionaire businessman and Liverpool vice-chairman Amit Bhatia, bought a stake of about 38% in the club last month.

Liverpool chief commercial officer Ben Latty said the front of the shirt “holds a special place in the history” of the club. He added that the new partnership would build on “strong foundations” established by Liverpool’s victory in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul.

Turkish Airlines chief executive Ahmet Olmustur said: “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.”

Turkey’s national flag carrier says it serves 356 destinations across 132 countries. The airline is regarded as a soft-power project of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and is controlled by the country’s wealth fund, which owns 49.1% of its shares.

Its global network is centred on Istanbul Airport, which became Europe’s busiest airport during the peak summer period in July, when it handled more than eight million travellers. It overtook London Heathrow in that period.

The announcement comes as Liverpool continue to benefit from an expanding commercial operation, with the new agreement set to increase the value of one of the most prominent assets in the club’s global marketing portfolio.

A photograph accompanying the report showed Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola speaking at a press conference at Anfield on the eve of the club’s UEFA Champions League first-round match against Atletico de Madrid.