Liverpool changes its main shirt sponsor after 17 years: Turkish Airlines takes over from 2027
Liverpool FC is entering a new phase in its commercial history after confirming on 8 September 2026 that Turkish Airlines will become the club's main partner from 1 June 2027. The Turkish airline's logo will appear on the front of the shirts of the men's, women's and academy teams from the start of the 2027/28 season. This will bring to an end a 17-year period in which Standard Chartered was the club's most prominent commercial partner and holder of the front-of-shirt position. Liverpool officially confirmed the duration and scope of the partnership, but did not disclose the financial value of the agreement. According to reports by The Guardian, Reuters and other British media, the five-year agreement is worth more than £300 million, or more than £60 million per season, placing it among the largest deals of its kind in English football.
The change is particularly significant because Liverpool very rarely changes the brand displayed on the most visible part of its shirt. Standard Chartered will remain the main partner until the end of the 2026/27 season and will then move into the role of global partner from June 2027, meaning that its long-standing business relationship with the club will not end completely. The club from Liverpool in north-west England is therefore simultaneously closing one of the longest periods of continuous main sponsorship in modern European football and opening a partnership with a company whose business is based on a global transport network. In its official announcement, Liverpool emphasises that the club's fan base spans every continent, while Turkish Airlines builds its international strategy around its hub in Istanbul and a flight network connecting more countries than any other airline. The global reach of the two organisations was highlighted as one of the main links behind the new partnership.
Five years and more than £300 million according to media estimates
The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed in Liverpool's statement or in Turkish Airlines' announcement, which is why the figures should be treated as media estimates rather than officially confirmed data. The Guardian states that the five-year agreement will bring Liverpool more than £60 million per year and more than £300 million in total. Reuters also reported that the value of the deal is estimated at more than £300 million and that such an amount would place the new arrangement among the most lucrative in the Premier League. According to The Guardian, the current agreement with Standard Chartered is estimated at around £50 million per year, so the switch to Turkish Airlines would represent a noticeable increase in revenue from the front-of-shirt position alone. The exact amount, bonus structure and any additional commercial rights have not yet been made public.
Comparisons with other major English clubs require caution because sponsorship packages are not always structured in the same way. Manchester United has a main shirt sponsorship with Qualcomm's Snapdragon brand, and the BBC reported when that deal was agreed in 2023 that it was worth more than £60 million per year; the partnership was extended in 2024 until 2029. Liverpool, according to The Guardian, believes that the new agreement with Turkish Airlines will be the most valuable pure front-of-shirt deal in Premier League history. Other major agreements, such as those linking Arsenal with Emirates or Manchester City with Etihad Airways, may also include additional rights such as stadium naming, which means that direct comparisons of total amounts are not always precise. In Liverpool's case, Anfield retains its traditional name, while the new agreement concerns the club's main partner and Turkish Airlines' visibility on competitive shirts.
Standard Chartered stays with the club but leaves the front of the shirt
Standard Chartered first appeared on Liverpool's shirt in July 2010, and the partnership was extended several times over the years. The most recent major extension was announced in July 2022, when the agreement was prolonged until the end of the 2026/27 season, confirming a total of 17 seasons in the role of main partner. Liverpool then emphasised that the agreement also included Liverpool FC Women and that the two organisations had jointly carried out projects connected with the development of women's football, youth work and social initiatives. According to the club's 2022 announcement, the partnership had by then helped raise more than £500,000 for programmes aimed at preventing avoidable blindness and developing young people's skills. That is why the change in 2027 is not being presented as the end of the relationship, but as a change in the level and type of partnership.
Liverpool's chief commercial officer Ben Latty, in the announcement of 8 September 2026, thanked Standard Chartered for its contribution during a period that included some of the club's greatest sporting successes in recent history. During the Standard Chartered era, the club won, among other honours, English and European championship titles, the FIFA Club World Cup, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, while the women's team also played with the same main partner. Latty also stressed that the front of Liverpool's shirt holds a special place in the club's history and that it has traditionally been reserved for long-term and strategically important partners. Standard Chartered will therefore remain part of Liverpool's commercial network as a global partner after 1 June 2027, although it will no longer occupy the most valuable advertising position on the competitive kit. This model allows the club to maintain its long-standing relationship with the bank while at the same time creating room for a larger main sponsorship agreement.
Turkish Airlines becomes only the sixth brand on the front of Liverpool's shirt
Liverpool has an unusually short list of main shirt sponsors relative to the length of the period in which commercial advertising on kits has become standard in European football. According to the club's historical overview, Hitachi became the first sponsor on Liverpool's shirt in 1979, and the Japanese electronics company remained until 1982. It was followed by Crown Paints from 1982 to 1988, Candy from 1988 to 1992 and Carlsberg, whose front-of-shirt partnership lasted as long as 18 years, from 1992 to 2010. Standard Chartered then took over the position and will retain it until the end of the 2026/27 season. When Turkish Airlines assumes the prominent position on the red shirt in the 2027/28 season, it will become only the sixth brand to occupy that role in the club's history.
This policy of continuity explains why Liverpool is presenting the change as an important moment rather than as a routine seasonal sponsor switch. The front of the shirt of one of the world's most recognisable football clubs offers a partner visibility in the Premier League, European competitions, television broadcasts, digital channels and international sportswear sales. For Turkish Airlines, such a position also carries additional symbolism because it connects the airline's brand with a club whose international audience is one of the key foundations of its commercial strategy. For Liverpool, on the other hand, the five-year agreement is important because it provides predictable multi-year revenue from one of the club's most valuable marketing assets. The stability of long-term agreements is particularly significant at a time when leading European clubs are seeking to increase commercial revenues in order to keep pace with rising costs related to squads, infrastructure and operations.
The connection with Istanbul and Liverpool's European history
In the official announcement, Ben Latty specifically mentioned "special memories from 2005", a clear reference to Liverpool's victory over Milan in the Champions League final at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. On 25 May 2005, Liverpool came back from a 0-3 deficit, levelled the score at 3-3 and won its fifth European title after a penalty shootout. The match remains one of the most famous finals in the history of the competition and one of the defining events of the club's modern history. Since Turkish Airlines is a company headquartered in Istanbul with its main operational hub there, the club included this historical connection in the public presentation of the partnership. However, the business logic of the agreement extends far beyond the symbolism of a single match and is primarily about the global exposure of two major international brands.
Turkish Airlines has used sport as one of its main channels of international marketing for years. UEFA announced in 2022 that the company had become the first airline partner of the Champions League, with the partnership at the time also including the UEFA Super Cup, the UEFA Futsal Champions League finals and the UEFA Youth League. The airline has also worked with numerous football clubs and associations, while its current sports sponsorship page lists, among others, the Turkish Football Federation, Galatasaray, Trabzonspor and other clubs. In earlier phases of its international expansion, Turkish Airlines also had sponsorship relationships with Barcelona, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund. The agreement with Liverpool, however, brings a significantly more visible position because the company's logo moves from a broader sports marketing portfolio to the very front of the shirt of one of the most-followed English clubs.
The new agreement comes during a period of record Liverpool revenues
The value of the new sponsorship arrangement should also be viewed in the context of strong growth in Liverpool's business revenues. According to the official financial results for the year ended 31 May 2025, the club generated record revenue of £703 million, which was £89 million more than the previous year. Commercial revenue increased by £15 million to £323 million, media revenue reached £264 million, and matchday revenue amounted to £116 million. Liverpool reported a profit after tax of £8 million for the same period, while staff costs rose to £428 million. The club also stated that it was the highest-ranked English club in the then-current edition of the Deloitte Football Money League, further illustrating its commercial position among Europe's largest football organisations.
In such a business model, a front-of-shirt agreement is not merely a marketing detail but one of the key long-term sources of commercial revenue. If media estimates of more than £60 million per year prove accurate, Turkish Airlines will provide Liverpool with an amount greater than the estimated current payment from Standard Chartered while also allowing the club to retain the bank in a different partnership category. Liverpool could therefore potentially broaden its overall commercial base rather than simply replacing one major partner with another. The final financial impact will nevertheless depend on details that are not public, including potential bonuses, marketing obligations, brand usage rights and other elements of the agreement. For that reason, for now the most precise wording is that the reported value is more than £300 million, with a clear note that the club has not officially confirmed that figure.
What changes from 1 June 2027
The transition is clearly defined in terms of timing. Standard Chartered remains the club's main partner and front-of-shirt sponsor throughout the entire 2026/27 season, while the new agreement with Turkish Airlines begins on 1 June 2027. From the start of the 2027/28 season, the Turkish Airlines logo will appear on the shirts of the men's first team, Liverpool FC Women and the club's academy teams. Standard Chartered will then move into the status of global partner, allowing the partnership to continue without the most prominent position on the shirt. For supporters and the wider market, this will be the first visual change of Liverpool's main competitive shirt sponsor since 2010.
The agreement also demonstrates how valuable the front of a shirt remains as an asset in global football, even in a period in which clubs are generating ever-greater revenues from television rights, digital platforms, stadiums and international commercial projects. Through its decades-long practice of making few changes, Liverpool has given this position additional importance, and Turkish Airlines will join a very short historical list of companies associated with the appearance of the club's shirt. If the reported figures are confirmed through future financial statements or other official documents, the five-year agreement could become a new benchmark for standalone front-of-shirt sponsorships in the Premier League. Until then, the key facts remain confirmed: from 1 June 2027 Liverpool will have a new main partner, Standard Chartered will end its 17-year period on the front of the shirt, and Turkish Airlines will take over one of the most commercially visible positions in world club football.
Sources:
- Liverpool FC - official announcement about Turkish Airlines becoming the club's main partner from 1 June 2027, the scope of the partnership and Standard Chartered's future status (link)
- Turkish Airlines - official announcement on the start of the partnership with Liverpool in the 2027/28 season and the company's international reach (link)
- The Guardian - estimate of the agreement's value at more than £60 million per year, comparison with the existing sponsorship and other Premier League agreements (link)
- Reuters / Channel News Asia - confirmation of the five-year duration of the agreement and media estimates of a total value exceeding £300 million (link)
- Liverpool FC - financial results for the year ended 31 May 2025, including total and commercial revenues and profit after tax (link)
- Liverpool FC - history of shirt sponsors and extension of the partnership with Standard Chartered until 2027 (link)
- UEFA - official announcement on Turkish Airlines becoming the first airline partner of the UEFA Champions League from 2022 (link)