Why do Inter Milan have Paramount on their shirts? Italian giants to wear new sponsor on kit for Champions League final against Man City

Inter Milan take on Manchester City in the Champions League final this weekend and fans may notice something strange.

Inter will step onto the biggest stage in European football when they face the Premier League champions in Istanbul on Saturday. 

And they will do so wearing their iconic blue and black striped kits, however, they will have a new logo on the front of their shirts.

Why do Inter have Paramount on their shirts?

Inter Milan will be wearing Paramount+ on the front of their shirts after they agreed a deal for the company to be their new sponsor.

The Italian side have decided to use the new sponsor on their kits for the final to showcase the new partnership.

Inter’s statement read: “Inter would like to present their shirt for the final in Istanbul.

“The premium streaming service, Paramount+, launched in Italy less than one year ago, will be the sponsor on the front of the shirt, which the team will wear against Manchester City on European football’s biggest stage.

“This agreement represents a great partnership between two leading brands that are increasingly aiming to reach a global market.”

For previous rounds in the competition, Inter had worn no sponsor at all after their original sponsors failed to pay their instalments to the club. 

The Italian side had agreed a multi-year deal worth £80million with cryptocurrency site ‘DigitalBits’.

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And after the agreement, they wore the company’s logo on the sleeves before eventually moving it onto the front of their shirts. 

However, in October last year, it was revealed that the company had failed to pay the club a reported £20m worth of instalments. 

This led to the ‘DigitalBits’ branding being removed from all things Inter-related apart from the front of the shirts. 

Inter’s corporate CEO Alessandro Antonello said last year: “[This] has not yet been paid by the sponsor, for which they have provided reasons that our lawyers deem unfounded. 

“Negotiations are currently underway to find a friendly resolution to the dispute. At present, it is not possible to predict whether these negotiations will be successful or not. 

“If it is not possible to reach an agreement, the club will consider taking legal action to protect our interests.

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“The club has already taken all the necessary actions on the market, initiating several discussions to find a possible new shirt partner through its own commercial structure so that the new partner can take over as soon as possible.”

An agreement was not found between ‘DigitalBits’ and Inter and the sponsorship was then suspended and the branding was removed from the shirts in April. 

Roma were sponsored by the same company and they have also ditched the logo on their shirts.

Since then, the Nerazzuri have played sponsor-less but they will don Paramount+ on their shirts when they head into the Champions League final.