Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher could be one of several players the club look to sell (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea pointed the finger of blame at government sanctions against former owner Roman Abramovich after posting losses of £121million which could force them to offload some key players this summer.
While the club actually made a £123m profit on player trading from the 2021/22 period in question – following the sales of Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and others – the Blues are firmly in the red and face a balancing act to abide by financial fair play rules.
That could mean the end of the road at Stamford Bridge for academy products Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher if the club need to bring in some quick cash.
Russian billionaire Abramovich, the long-time Chelsea owner, was sanctioned by the government in March last year as it sought to freeze the assets of individuals it believed had connections to Russian president Vladimir Putin, following the invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea were placed under a special licence which restricted their ability to sell tickets, accept event bookings and sign contracts with players. The restrictions remained in place until May 30 last year when a consortium led by Todd Boehly bought the club.
A statement yesterday said the impact of the sanctions on Chelsea’s financial results would also be felt ‘in the following years’.
The losses were attributed to increased operating expenses including matchday and other costs, and came despite turnover increasing to £481.3m from £434.9m the previous year, while commercial revenue rose to £177.1m.
These results do not capture Chelsea’s big spending in the last two transfer windows, when they paid out £600m on new players, although they have spread the cost of that outlay by giving players lengthy contracts which see the fee accounted for over a longer period – such as Mykhailo Mudryk’s eight-and-a-half-year deal following his £88m move in January.
Chelsea boss Graham Potter may see players leave in the summer (Picture: Rex)
Chelsea, who insist they continued to comply with Uefa and Premier League financial regulations, also lost £153m in 2020/21. Allowable losses for top-flight clubs are capped at £105m over three years.
A poor season on the field also means there will be less income – Chelsea look certain to miss out on next season’s Champions League.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the Times Chelsea would be ‘dancing on the head of a pin’ to meet FFP rules but said the key factor in the club’s favour was their assets, with a bloated squad allowing for the possibility of bringing in money.
Blues hit by £121million loss