Hyundai have become the latest sponsor to pull out of their Chelsea deal.
The Blues are in crisis mode after owner Roman Abramovich was hit with sanctions from the UK government, which have plunged the club into financial uncertainty.
Now their sleeve sponsors have suspended ‘marketing and communications activities’ with the west Londoners, according to the Daily Mail.
Next season would have been the final year of their £50million deal, which has seen Abramovich’s club make £10m per season.
Hyundai released the following statement: “In the current circumstances, we have taken the decision to suspend our marketing and communication activities with the Club until further notice.”
They joined Chelsea’s shirt sponsor Three who also suspended their relationship with the club and asked for their name to be removed from the team’s kit as well as stadium until further notice.
Fellow sponsor Zapp have also paused their activities with the Blues for the time being.
Bruno Fernandes will miss Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Tottenham through illness.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford both return to the starting XI.
David de Gea starts at Old Trafford tonight after returning a false positive Covid test earlier in the day.
Luke Shaw remains out after testing positive during the week but there is a return for Raphael Varane who missed the defeat to Manchester City last week for the same reasons.
Ralf Rangnick has told Marcus Rashford to leave in the summer if he is intent on quitting Old Trafford.
But the German boss wants his forward to forget about his future for now and concentrate on helping the Red Devils secure a top-four spot.
Rangnick said: “Suppose he and his agents, or his family, at one stage of the summer think about maybe going to another club, he can do that — but in the summer.
“Now the window is closed. It’s got nothing to do with our next game or the game on Tuesday.”
Rashford was left out of the United starting line-up for last Sunday’s dismal derby defeat at The Etihad despite there being no other available striker.
Brighton produced a spirited performance against the title chasers but couldn’t prevent Liverpool from recording an eighth successive Premier League victory.
There were spells when Albion matched Liverpool but Luiz Diaz’s brave first-half goal put the visitors in charge.
Mohamed Salah scored Liverpool’s 2,000th Premier League goal as they stuttered to a 2-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion that closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to three points.
Liverpool got the action under way on the south coast seeking a response to the defeat to Inter in midweek by maintaining the pressure on Manchester City at the division’s summit.
However, Brighton had proved tricky opponents when the sides met at Anfield back in October, coming from two down to claim a point, and they began brightly on this occasion.
Neil Maupay had the game’s first effort, flashing a low shot a fraction wide of Alisson Becker’s right-hand post from just outside the area.
At the other end, the Reds’ first attack of note saw Salah cross for Sadio Mane, who had a side-footer touched wide by Sanchez at the front stick.
Liverpool struggled to capitalise until Salah doubled their lead from the penalty spot on 61 minutes as the Egyptian punished a handball by Yves Bissouma.
It was Salah’s 20th Premier League goal of the season and made Liverpool the second team to reach 2,000 in the competition after Manchester United.
Salah then went off with an apparent injury but, although Alisson denied Brighton substitutes Danny Welbeck and Solly March late on, Liverpool had done enough to secure an eighth successive league victory, moving them on to 66 points.
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte insists he was never in contention to manage Manchester United this season.
Conte said: “Honestly, I think that [when] United decided to sack [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer, I [had already] signed for Tottenham.
“I enjoyed doing this because, at that moment, I found this situation very good for me, to work in a modern club with a fantastic stadium, with a fantastic training ground, with a big task to try to build something important, to build something competitive for the future.
“It [Solskjaer’s sacking] happened after I signed, but honestly, I am so focused on the Tottenham job that I didn’t read this.
“Now the present is Tottenham for me. I repeat, I’m enjoying a lot working at this club with these players. We are trying to improve, to increase our level, this is our target in this moment. I repeat, I’m enjoying it”
Reports in England claim that Roman Abramovich and the UK Government have found an agreement to push ahead with the sale of Chelsea.
According to the Daily Mail, Downing Street had, on Friday, opened negotiations with the Russian billionaire’s advisers over the terms of the sale, which No 10 is eager to push through as quickly as possible.
It came after the club were handed a sporting licence to continue with their football-related activities, but any sale of the club was put on hold, while fears they would not be able to finish the season were also prevalent.
Now according to The Daily Telegraph, the two parties are striking a deal in a major boost to the west London outfit.
The Government regard a quick sale as the best outcome for Chelsea and its fans, but for that to happen Abramovich would have to agree to writing off loans of over £1.5billion without receiving any of the proceeds.
But that appears to have happened, with the report claiming Abramovich has instructed The Raine Group – the American bank that paused the sale after the Russian was sanctioned on Thursday due to his reported links to Vladimir Putin – to continue the process of completing a takeover.
The same outlet also claims a deadline of the end of next week – pushed back from Tuesday – has been set for prospective new buyers’ first bids to be submitted, with Abramovich now hoping for a rapid sale and Raine hoping it attracts more bidders.
However, The Telegraph also add a so-called ‘doomsday’ scenario is also a possible eventuality and could become reality if Abramovich cannot sell and the sporting licence is not amended to allow more less stringent terms.
British billionaire Nick Candy has confirmed in recent days he is still pursuing a bid for the club.
The 49-year-old property developer is a Chelsea fan, who is planning to attend Sunday’s Premier League home match against Newcastle and has pledged to put supporters at the centre of his plans for the club that will be jointly-funded with American investors.
