Despite roping in several big names, Chelsea could not even make it to the Champions League spots and ended last season at a lowly 12th position. The London giants have once again spent heavily in this transfer window in order to challenge the likes of Manchester City for the Premier League title. Since taking over the ownership in May last year, Todd Boehly has already spent more than £900 million in the transfer market. With the numbers close to touching the £1 billion-mark, there was a possibility of Chelsea breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FPP) regulations. So how is Chelsea tackling it?
A report published by Goal claimed that the Premier League club has handed unusually longer contracts to their new signings, including the likes of Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke. Most of the players, who shifted their base to Stamford Bridge last summer, and in January, signed seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half-year contracts.
This is considered to be a masterstroke for Chelsea, who have managed to spread the cost of each initial transfer fee by distributing it across the length of each contract. This process, which is known as amortisation, helps football clubs to avoid FFP sanctions. Though, a new rule has been implemented this summer to tackle this loophole. In a bid to deal with this, UEFA decided to limit amortised transfer contracts to a maximum term of five years.
While Chelsea’s performance in the 2022-23 campaign was quite disastrous, it can very well be a blessing in disguise, at least from the FFP’s perspective. Since the side failed to earn a qualification for any European tournament, it can operate outside the European Football governing body’s regulations, at least till the end of the new season.
Apart from strengthening their squad, Chelsea are trying to gain a monetary boost by selling their players. Since the summer transfer window opened, a total of 13 players, including the likes of Christian Pulisic, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy, have left Stamford Bridge. Courtesy of this outgoing list, Chelsea has reportedly raised around £200m.
Unlike the amortised incoming transfers, the fund of these outgoing players was registered in the year’s accounts. Chelsea can also utilise the £100m, raised through the transfers of Havertz, Mount and Kovacic, to fund the transfer fees amortised over five-year contracts, according to a report by the Athletic.
Chelsea reportedly faced a loss of £156m in the 2021-22 season. This big amount of financial loss was incurred, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They also had to face a hefty deficit of £121m last season.
