The exclusive deal with China's number one internet portal will see a Mandarin language Chelsea FC website launched in mainland China next year (2007).
SINA.com's sports site has an average daily traffic of more than 40 million, three times that of its nearest competitor, giving it a market share of more than 50 per cent. The new site will be based on the redesign of www.chelseafc.com launched last week.
According to Premiership sponsors Barclays, Chelsea scores a 16 per cent popularity rating in China with a league average of 5 per cent per club. Chelsea ranks fourth of all foreign clubs in terms of popularity with 9.3 per cent, 0.4 per cent behind Manchester United and ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
