Chelsea face millions in losses from suspension of sponsorship deals

Thursday was a turbulent day for Chelsea, as the club discovered that club owner Roman Abramovich had been sanctioned by the UK government.

As a result, Chelsea are now prohibited from selling players or signing players, as well as renewing contracts.

Later on in the day, Chelsea's shirt sponsor, Three, announced that they have temporarily suspended their 40 million pound agreement with the Blues, and the mobile network provider released the following statement.

"In light of the government's recently announced sanctions, we have requested Chelsea Football Club temporarily suspend our sponsorship of the club, including the removal of our brand from shirts and around the stadium until further notice," read Three's statement.

"We recognise that this decision will impact the many Chelsea fans who follow their team passionately.

"However, we feel that given the circumstances, and the Government sanction that is in place, it is the right thing to do."

Nike, Hyundai and Zapp are considering same decision

According to the Daily Mail, Nike are also considering suspending their sponsorship agreement with Chelsea.

The US sports brand reached a 15-year agreement with the Blues worth 900 million pounds in 2015, and were they to suspend this deal this would cost Chelsea 540 million pounds over the coming years.

Another company considering their future as a sponsor of Chelsea is Hyundai. The South Korean automobile company agreed a five-year deal with Chelsea in 2018 worth 10 million pounds a year, and they have issued a statement.

"Hyundai has become one of the strongest partners in football over the years and the company supports the sport to be a force for good," read the statement.

"We are currently assessing the situation with Chelsea."

Meanwhile, Zapp, the grocery start-up application, have also stated that they are monitoring a decision, and will make a decision on their ties with Chelsea.

Chelsea have 16 sponsors in total, such as Trivago, the Blues' training kit and warm-up kit sponsor, as well as Yokohama Tyres, Vitality, Hublot, Cadbury and Singha, among others.

Out of all these agreements, the most important financially speaking is the agreement with Nike, as the sports brand contributes around 56 million pounds of Chelsea's income each year.

Contract renewal talks have stopped

With Chelsea unable to renew the contracts of their current players, talks over the renewals of a number of key first team players have stopped.

The contracts of key defenders Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen all expire in June.

Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel has stated that, in spite of all the restrictions, his side will not stop competing.

"As long as we have enough shirts and a bus to drive to the games we will be there and will compete hard," he said.

The European champions are in serious trouble.