Thai energy drinks brand Carabao has terminated its partnership with Brazilian top-tier football club Flamengo four years early.
Carabao was named as Flamengo’s new sleeve sponsor at the start of 2017. The drinks brand was expected to upgrade its partnership to become a main sponsor in 2018 in a deal that would have run until the end of 2022.
Carabao then renegotiated the terms of the contract to remain a sleeve sponsor this season, but has now taken the decision to terminate the partnership.
The original deal was supposed to be worth R190m (€43m/$49m) over the final five years of the agreement, but Carabao agreed to pay only R10m for its sleeve sponsorship this year.
Reports have suggested that lower-than-expected sales in the Brazilian market were behind the decision to downgrade the partnership. Carabao had an exit clause in the agreement which allowed it to terminate the deal if a minimum number of orders in Brazil was not reached.
Carabao has had an increasing presence in world football in recent years. The brand became the title sponsor of England’s EFL Cup knockout competition at the start of the 2017-18 season.