Chelsea has announced that Samsung has elected to extend its shirt sponsorship deal with the European champion through to the end of the 2014-15 season. The English Premier League giant confirmed the news in a brief statement which read: “Samsung have exercised their right to extend their deal which will see them remain as a premium partner of the club until the end of May 2015.” Although Chelsea declined to comment on the financial terms of the extension, Bloomberg reports that it will remain at the same level as the existing deal while other reports state that it will rise to around £18 million a season. Chelsea first partnered with Samsung in 2005 in a deal worth £11 million per season. This was upgraded to £15 million in 2010 and although the agreement with the Korean electronics giant ranks amongst the largest in English football, Chelsea still trails behind most of its major rivals in the shirt sponsorship stakes. Manchester United in July announced that its new shirt sponsorship deal with Chevrolet will bring in a record-breaking US$559 million (£357 million) over the seven-year duration of the agreement, which commences in 2014-15. Liverpool’s current deal with Standard Chartered is worth £80 million over four years. Manchester City’s groundbreaking sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways, which combines shirt sponsorship and stadium naming rights, was reportedly worth £400 million over 10 years when it was signed in 2011.