Chelsea announce £90.1m pre-tax loss to pose fresh doubts over complying with Premier League sustainability rules… as spending on transfers hits £1.2billion under Todd Boehly

Chelsea have reported a pre-tax loss of £90.1 million in the club’s first full year under the club’s new ownership.

Accounts filed by Chelsea’s parent company revealed the loss for the twelve months to June 30, 2023.

Chelsea had made a loss of £121.4 million last year.

The losses will cast further doubt on Chelsea’s ability to meet the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules.

The rules limit clubs to losses of £105m over three years.

The group attributed their losses to investments in Chelsea’s playing teams

The club’s total revenues grew to £512.5 million, while profits on the sale of players and fixed assets amounted to £142.2 million.

The accounts confirm that Chelsea has made player registrations worth a total of £744 million for the period ending June 30, 2023.

Chelsea’s parent company said the group has since registered 22 players at an initial cost of £454.8 million since the end of the period.

The additions take their total spend on transfers to £1.2 billion since taking over the club.

BlueCo 22, the company formed by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly to buy the Blues, confirmed a loss of £653 million since inception.

The figure covers the period between March 2, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

BlueCo 22 officially completed a takeover of Chelsea in May 2022, with the consortium having been established two months earlier.

The group has since bought Ligue 1 side Strasbourg for an initial price of £64.9 million.

“The group reports a pre-tax loss for the period of £678.2 million, driven by investment in Chelsea’s men’s and women’s players,” the accounts said.

‘For the period, the group reported a turnover of £534.7 million, driven by commercial, broadcasting and matchday revenue from Chelsea.

‘The group reports net assets at the end of the period of £1,797m and net current liabilities of £0.1m.’