Over the past 15 years, Sevilla have quickly built their reputation as the most successful club in the Europa League; in fact, so much so that the Spanish side have been referred to as "serial Europa League winners". No team has enjoyed more titles in European club football's second-tier competition, where they've made themselves at home since winning their first trophy in 2006. Since then, they've won six trophies, including three in a row from 2014 to 2016, and the most recent being in 2020 when they defeated Inter in the final.
Presently in fourth spot, Sevilla won't have a chance to again defend their Europa League crown this season as they entered the Champions League and were dumped out early in the round of 16. And with an eight point gap between themselves and fifth-placed Real Betis, Julen Lopetegui's men will probably qualify for the Champions League again next season - and not the Europa League where they're clearly more at home - unless if they really end up losing the plot between now and May, and that's highly unlikely to happen.
In any case, Sevilla, who finished as runners-up to Bayern in this season's UEFA Super Cup, have made some in-roads off the pitch that puts them in some very interesting company. On the surface, Sevilla and Lyon don't have much in common, except perhaps both are presently sitting in fourth place in their respective leagues. Les Gones, at the moment, are five points behind league leaders Lille, but 12 ahead of Lens.
About a week ago, we revealed that Lyon, who made an impressive run to last season's Champions League semi's, recently signed a short-term sponsorship deal with e-commerce brand AliExpress, which will see the company's logo featured on the left sleeve of the team's kits. In addition to this, AliExpress also gets a tailored marketing package that includes a wide range of online marketing channels, including online ads, video marketing, and mobile marketing that will be displayed on Lyon's various social media outlets.
Sevilla's deal with AliExpress will let the company have its logo displayed not on the sleeve, but on the back of the team's kits. Fans who watched the team's 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid over the weekend probably saw this change on the player's uniforms. In addition to shirt sponsorship rights, AliExpress will also be able to be featured during games at Sevilla's home base (the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium) and at the club's training ground, while also getting to use Sevilla's various social media channels for PR purposes.
This arrangement will place AliExpress alongside organizations such as Nike and Valvoline among Sevilla's second-tier level of club sponsors.
Financial details of this arrangement haven't been revealed, but the deal is anticipated to run through the conclusion of the 2020/2021 season.
