Chelsea post huge losses
Chelsea announced net losses during Roman Abramovich’s last year at the club. The Blues allege it incurred “extraordinary expenses and loss of income” due to UEFA sanctions.
Judging by their lavish spending during the two recent transfer windows, it might appear that Chelsea’s accounts are sound. Last summer, the club broke the all-time record for expenditure in one transfer window and since then, have splashed out a total of 611 million euros on bringing in 17 players. The reality is very different - Chelsea’s economic problems can be traced further back. More specifically, from Roman Abramovich’s spell as club chairman. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced the Russian tycoon to part company Chelsea at the start of 2022. However, the club’s accounts and assets were blocked up until American investor Todd Boehly took over the reins of the club in June. During that period, the club racked up losses of more than 121 million pounds. In other words, more than 140 million euros.
“Chelsea have made public their accounts for the last year under Roman Abramovich, in which the club had to face “extraordinary expenses and lost income” due to sanctions. They announced a global net loss of 121.3 million pounds, despite generating 123.2 million profit from selling players in their annual financial results for the year ending June 2022,” journalist Nizaar Kinsella explained in the Evening Standard. The London-based newspaper added that, “The new Boehly-Clearlake ownership group were only in place for the last month of the period that is covered in the latest accounts.” Those ‘sanctions meant that the Blues were unable to collect revenue from match activity, merchandising, events or trade associations. The Standard point out that, “turnover increased to £481.3m after sanctions - with the 2020/21 season partly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Said losses, added to “an unspecified one-off expense of £26.6 million that impacted the club’s bottom line” and the large investment made by Chelsea during last summer’s transfer window and the winter 2023 window, leave the London team in a delicate situation. However, “Chelsea remain confident that they will continue to comply with UEFA and Premier League financial regulations.” The reported 120 million pounds of income refer to the sale of players such as Tammy Abraham, Marc Guéhi, Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma. But the balance is still negative for the Blues. During 2022/2023, the club managed to bring in almost 70 million in sales, but the arrival of two players, Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernández ended up tipping them into the red.