Liverpool FC renew sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - English soccer club Liverpool FC has renewed its sponsorship deal with Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered Bank for another three years, they said on Tuesday.

London-based Standard Chartered (Other OTC: SCBFF - news) has been Liverpool's main shirt sponsor since the 2010/11 season and the new deal runs until the end of the 2018/19 season.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. It was previously worth about 20 million pounds ($30 million) a year, one of the most lucrative sponsorships in English sport.

Europe's largest soccer clubs are now major brands which attract international sponsors and have fans around the globe.

Standard Chartered was attracted to Liverpool by its strong support in Asia, where the bank makes most of its profits, and it has run promotions with the club in markets including Thailand, Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

The partnership was strained in 2012 after Liverpool and its star player Luis Suarez were embroiled in a racism row. Standard Chartered intervened to help resolve it.

Liverpool is England's most successful club in Europe with five European Cup wins. The club has won 18 English league titles, second only behind Manchester United (NYSE: MANU - news) , although Liverpool's last was in 1989/90.

($1 = 0.6690 pounds) (Reporting by Steve Slater; editing by David Clarke)