The LVMH brand has signed a new partnership agreement with the London football club.

“Hublot Loves Football” was the campaign launched by the brand during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil last summer. But the club had been flirting with football for years before officially launching that marketing campaign.

The brand has been the official timekeeper at the highest level of the football world for years. It has also partnered with some of the biggest – and richest – football names in the world. After all, one of its brand ambassadors is Mr. Football himself, the legendary Pele.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Paris Saint-Germain

Earlier this summer, Hublot and Paris Saint-Germain, the world-renowned French club, debuted the official watch of Paris Saint-Germain, the Big Bang Unico Bi-Retrograde Paris Saint-Germain. The club is also partnered with powerhouses from Europe’s other top leagues: Ajax Amsterdam from the Netherlands, Bayern Munich from Germany, and Juventus from Italy.

It was sooner or later that Hublot would spread its football love to the British isles, one of the most lucrative and watched football leagues in the world. To mark the start of the English league for London-based club Chelsea, the brand proudly announced that “the legendary Chelsea FC chooses Hublot”. And just like that, the Swiss watch brand became the Official Timekeeper and Official Watch of the prestigious club.

The players of Chealse F.C. are set to receive thier new wristwatches

It’s fitting that a luxury brand such as Hublot would be associated with an elite club like Chelsea. They are among the top clubs in the world, both in terms of their on-field success, and their off-field wealth, thanks to billionaire Russian owner, Roman Abramovic.

The interesting part, however, is the wording of the press release. Chelsea “chose” Hublot to be its sponsor. In other words, this usually means that Chelsea has chosen to allow Hublot to sponsor the club – for an undisclosed fee – in exchange for the added exposure for the brand.

And Chelsea were probably spoiled for choice, too. According to sports network ESPN among its other sponsorship deals, the club receives $47 million per year for “choosing” Adidas to provide its kits. It also receives a staggering $62.3 million per year from Yokohama Tyres for having the right to have their name written on the Chelsea jersey.

Clearly, Hublot has entered elite company. I just wonder what price has been paid for the brand’s love of football. (VJ)