Liverpool bank $130m StanChart shirt deal

on Monday, estimated to be worth up to 80 million pounds ($133 million) for the English soccer club.

Financial details were not disclosed but the tie-up is expected to be worth up to 20 million pounds per year for the London-based bank's logo to replace Danish beer brewer Carlsberg, who have sponsored Liverpool since 1992.

The five-times European champions said the agreement would begin next July and run until the end of the 2013-14 season.

"The sponsorship opportunity attracted a huge level of interest from a wide array of globally recognised brands " the club's managing director Christian Purslow told its official website (www.liverpoolfc.tv).

"It is a real sign of the progress we have made at Liverpool that we have been able to secure the largest ever commercial deal in our history."

The windfall comes as a timely boost following a pre-season in which manager Rafael Benitez has been frustrated in his attempts to free up cash to spend in the transfer market.

The Spaniard fell out with Tom Hicks and George Gillett over the side's transfer policy shortly after the North American businessmen purchased Liverpool in 2007.

Liverpool, England's most successful club with 18 English league titles and five European Cup triumphs, have not won a domestic championship since 1990.

For Standard Chartered the deal marks a big jump in its sport sponsorship, but the bank said it makes sense due to the popularity of English soccer in Asia, where the bank makes more than three-quarters of its profits.

"We made a strategic decision to make a step change in our brand, and reflects the confidence we have in our business," Richard Meddings, Standard Chartered's finance director, told Reuters in an interview.

"Football in our markets is huge, and Liverpool is an iconic brand," he said.

Standard Chartered operates in 75 countries and has weathered the financial crisis better than most rivals, making a $4.6 billion profit last year and doubling revenue and profits in the last five years. Its chief executive, Peter Sands, is an avid fan of rival team Arsenal.