Chelsea blame sanctions on Roman Abramovich for their £121m loss in their annual accounts… and they don’t even include the £500MILLION spent on new players under Todd Boehly!
- Chelsea operated under a special licence after Roman Abramovich’s sanctions
- The club said the sanctions led to ‘extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue’
- Chelsea have warned the sanctions could still have a lasting impact on the club
Chelsea insist they remain compliant with financial regulations despite recording a net loss of £121.3 million for the year, after the sanctioning of former owner Roman Abramovich led to ‘extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue’.
The Blues were required to operate under a special licence granted by the UK Government between March 10 to May 30 last year.
The licence was granted after the Government sanctioned Abramovich following the invasion of Ukraine, over his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea said the conditions, which were in place until the Todd Boehly-led consortium completed a £4.25billion takeover, had led to a significant loss of revenue.
The club has warned impact of the sanctions are expected to be felt in the coming years.
Chelsea had to operate under a special licence after Roman Abramovich was sanctioned
The club admitted the sanction caused ‘extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue’ last year
The sanctions were lifted after the Todd Boehly led consortium completed its takeover in May
‘During this period, the Club was restricted in a number of areas including, but not limited to, its ability to sell matchday and season tickets, sell merchandise, accept event bookings, as well as sign contracts with players and commercial sponsorship partners, which collectively resulted in extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue,’ a Chelsea statement read.
‘Furthermore, some of these limitations are also expected to have an impact on the financials in the following years due to the long-term impact from restrictions on entering into new contractual arrangements.
‘Towards the end of the sanctioned period, the Club was permitted to sell certain matchday tickets, with the Premier League committing to donate all revenue from these sales to charity.’
Chelsea reported that their turnover increased to £481.3 million from £434.9 million the previous year, despite the restrictions, while commercial revenue rose to £177.1m.
The club confirmed an overall net loss of £121.3 million, which was attributed to increased operating expenses including matchday and non-matchday costs.
Chelsea insist they remain compliant with both UEFA and Premier League financial regulations.
The Blues had previously recorded losses of £153.4million in accounts for the year ending 2021 but, along with other top-flight clubs, they were given allowances by the Premier League due to the impact on the Covid-19 pandemic on their finances.
Under Premier League FFP rules, clubs are allowed to lose £105m over a rolling three-year period, but there are adjustments for virtue spending areas such as infrastructure spend, women’s teams, academies and community projects.
The new UEFA FFP rules dictate that, from next season, the amount a club spends on net player acquisitions (spending minus income), plus wages, plus agents fees, must not exceed 90 per cent of any club’s income.
The financial year did not include last summer and the January 2023 transfer windows, which saw the club spend £500million on new signings.
The return of fans to matches boosted turnover but matchday operating costs increased
Chelsea had a profit of £123.2 million in player trading with Tammy Abraham among their sales
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters suggested earlier this month that Chelsea will have to sell players to balance their books following their outlay.
The Blues splashed out £323m in the January transfer window on the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Benoit Badiashile, adding to big money purchases of Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Raheem Sterling last summer.
Chelsea said it had invested £118 million in the playing squad during the 2021/22 financial year, including existing player contract renegotiations.
The club made a profit of £123.2 million in player trading, due to the sales of Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori, and Kurt Zouma.
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