Chelsea blame huge losses on sanctions

CHELSEA suffered ‘extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue’ due to the sanctions on former owner Roman abramovich and warned they will continue to feel the impact of those restrictions in the coming years.

Chelsea posted another huge loss of £121.3million for the year ending June 2022, following £153.4m in the previous 12 months, in their latest financial figures released yesterday. But even though the picture at Chelsea improved in some areas, their results were badly hit by the Government’s sanctions. From early March last year until they were bought at the end of May by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital consortium, Chelsea were forced to operate under a special licence restricting their ability to, among other things, sell tickets, merchandise and agree new deals with players and sponsors. a Chelsea statement read: ‘Some of these limitations are also expected to impact on the financials in following years due to the long-term impact from restrictions on entering into new contractual arrangements.’

Chelsea also reported an increased turnover of £481m, up from £434.9m. Commercial revenue rose to £177.1m while they also banked just over £120m from player sales. However, that was countered by less Champions League money, the ongoing impact of the pandemic and increased operating and staff costs due to the club being back open fully for business. Chelsea insisted they continue to comply with UEFa and the Premier League’s financial rules. However, the latest figures do not account for their record-breaking, near-£600m spend on players since being taken over, with their new owners only in charge for the final month of the last financial year. In order to comply with the Premier League’s rules, clubs are restricted to maximum losses of £105m over three-year rolling periods.

The futures of a number of Chelsea stars are in doubt, including Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic, and any sales this summer will aid their hopes of avoiding breaching financial regulations next year. Chelsea, currently 10th in the Premier League, will not have to comply with UEFa’s guidelines if they fail to qualify for Europe next season.