Dalglish says new sponsor deal will help Rafa

Reds legend Kenny Dalglish believes the new £80m sponsorship deal that was officially announced today, can help Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez bring more trophy's to Anfield.

Speaking about the deal, the new club ambassador Dalglish said:

"Like every other Liverpool fan, I want the best assets of this club to be on the pitch - and this deal will help that," said Dalglish on the official site.

"If it can help Rafa and increase his budget - well that's what everyone wants.

"Success on the pitch leads to success off it and vice versa. It all leads to the same thing - a lot of happy Liverpool supporters. This is a fantastic deal for everybody."

Dalglish who met with executives at Standard Chartered prior to today's announcement believes the new partners fit perfectly with the clubs traditions.

"The size of this deal commercially is very important, but equally as important are the people involved," he said.

"Standard Chartered are good, solid people. I've met them before and they're very good."

"The importance of the support Liverpool have in the Far East is very important for them because they have their base there as well as the Middle East and Africa," he added.

"Our support out there was highlighted during our pre-season tour, and I think that time helped make up both minds that this would be a fantastic opportunity.

"This only endorses what a lot of people already knew - that this is one of the most important clubs in world football."

Liverpool officially announce new £80m shirt sponsorship deal

Liverpool football club today officially announced their new shirt sponsorship deal. As reported on this site on Thursday, The Anfield club have struck a four-year agreement with London-based international bank Standard Chartered, who will become their main sponsor from July next year until the end of the 2013-14 season. The record busting deal is believed to be worth £80m over 4-years and is the biggest in the club's history, sending the Reds to the top of the shirt sponsorship tree alongside bitter rivals Manchester United who announced an £80 million four-year deal with Aon in June.

Liverpool Managing Director Christian Purslow says the club's sponsorship agreement signals the start of an exciting new era at Anfield.

"I am tremendously excited," Purslow today told the official site. "It's a hugely important day in the history of Liverpool Football Club.

"This is the largest commercial agreement we have ever entered into. To have attracted a partner of the calibre of Standard Chartered Bank says everything about where we are trying to take this football club.

"Standard Chartered are one of the world's leading banks. They're a global company, as we are, and their aspiration to be the best bank in the world matches our aspiration to be the best at what we do.

"They operate in a number of markets around the world where we have a long term plan to increase the family of Liverpool fans and this agreement will be very helpful to us in doing that.

"Many branches in these countries will effectively be a shop window for Liverpool Football Club and a means of attracting more supporters to the cause.

"We aspire to be the best at what we do on and off the field. This is the first commercial agreement the club has entered into which can truly be described as the best of its kind in world football.

"I hope this tells everyone, especially our fans, what we are trying to do with this football club in the future."

Gillett says new shirt sponsorship deal will please and surprise fans

There appears to be more movement in Liverpool football clubs new shirt sponsorship deal. As reported on this site on Thursday, the Reds are on the brink of announcing a new lucrative deal after current sponsors Carlesberg were unwilling to meet the clubs financial assessment reflecting their position as 'one of the most recognisable brands in world football'.

According to the Guardian, the Reds "are set to announce a new shirt sponsorship deal worth £80m over four years – the most lucrative in football history and equal to that of Manchester United."

The London-based international bank, Standard Chartered, are believed to be behind the deal which will start in mid-2010.

The Times says: "The deal with Standard Chartered will be confirmed by Liverpool imminently, with George Gillett Jr, the club’s co-owner, having admitted during a radio interview that he expects a formal announcement to be made on Friday."

The new sponsorship agreement with the London-based international bank will start in mid-2010 once current shirt deal with Carlesberg runs out.

Liverpool co-owner George Gillet had earlier stated that a new deal was close and that supporters would be impressed by the new sponsor.

"I think people will be pleased and surprised," Gillett told a Canadian radio station. "It will be one of the great, worldwide corporations. And I think it will be a sponsor people will be pleased and surprised to be associated with."

Gillett also claims that Liverpool are in excellent financial condition.

"The club is in outstanding shape," Gillett said. "Economically, it's never been stronger. We just paid down our debt very substantially. We have less debt per dollar than any club in the league."

Reds on the brink of striking new shirt sponsorship deal

Liverpool football club are believed to be on the brink of striking a new shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered, the insurance group. "A deal worth as much as £15million a year is being touted by industry insiders," reports the Times.

The clubs owners believe that Liverpool has frequently been under sold commercially and want a deal that reflects their position as 'one of the most recognisable brands in world football'. It is understood that the Reds have been seeking a financial agreement comparable with United’s £80m four year deal with 'Aon' and Chelsea's new deal with Samsung.

Yesterday the FA announced that they had secured a lucrative £50 million sponsorship deal with Carlsberg. However, "the brewer's decision to renew its contract with the FA almost certainly means the end of the company's long association with Liverpool," reports the article.

Carlsberg first signed up with the Reds in 1992 and were the Premier League's longest shirt sponsor under Liverpool FC. It is believed the Anfield club wanted Carlsberg to double its £7.2million-a-year payments to continue as sponsor, but the brewer has been unwilling to meet the fee.