- Chelsea have spent more than £1 billion since being taken over by a consortium led by Todd Boehly
- Reports have suggested that the Blues could be in breach of Financial Fair Play rules
- Chelsea were cowardly to play for penalties. Liverpool have a case, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are soulless – Listen to the It all starts podcast
Chelsea’s Premier League rivals reportedly believe Mauricio Pochettino’s side must make £100m from player sales by June 30 to avoid Financial Fair Play issues.
The Premier League’s FFP rules have come into focus in recent months, with Everton deducted 10 points for breaching them in November, although this penalty was reduced to six on appeal.
Then last month they were charged again – along with Nottingham Forest – for breaching top flight licensing rules. Premier League clubs are allowed to lose £105 million over three years, with the end of each financial year falling on June 30.
Meanwhile, since Chelsea were taken over by a consortium led by Todd Boehly in May 2022, the Blues have spent more than £1 billion in the transfer market as they attempted to revamp their squad.
They have spread the costs somewhat by using depreciation to pay the fees over several years by handing long-term contracts to players, but the Blues are still the biggest spenders in the top flight over that period.
Chelsea’s Premier League rivals believe they need to make big sales to avoid exceeding the FFP
Since being taken over by a consortium led by Todd Boehly, the Blues have spent more than £1 billion
This includes spending over £100 million on both Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez
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And according to The TelegraphChelsea’s top rivals believe the Blues need to rake in almost £100million in sales by the end of June to avoid facing a potential penalty.
However, the report states that Chelsea – who have previously insisted they have not broken FFP rules – reject this and instead claim that sales before June 30 would merely be the result of early selection planning before any further more players would come in.
Nevertheless, they are still likely to release several stars this summer after the Blues recouped £130m before June 30 last year by selling the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz and Edouard Mendy. They then raised a further £100 million through the departures of Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Ethan Ampadu after July 1.
Despite spending more than £1 billion under the Boehly-backed consortium, the Blues have regained almost £400 million in revenue, but their task of selling players this summer will be affected by Euro 2024, which runs from June 14 to 14 July, with many It is unlikely that players will settle their futures until after the tournament.
But the report also states that the rumors that big sales are needed could be a ploy by Chelsea’s rivals to create uncertainty around the club and their players.
This is relevant as Lewis Hall is expected to move to Newcastle for £28 million after a purchase obligation was included in his season-long loan, while Romelu Lukaku has a £37 million release clause that could be activated by his loan club Roma or Saudi Arabia. Pro League sides.
Meanwhile, Ian Maatsen has a £35million release clause, which is expected to be activated by his loan club Borussia Dortmund or rival clubs.
Chelsea likely to recoup money from the sale of Ian Maatsen (left) and Lewis Hall (right)
The report states that these rumors could be a ploy by rival clubs to create uncertainty at Chelsea
If all these players leave it would raise almost £100m, while the Blues are also planning to offload Trevoh Chalobah and Armando Broja – and Conor Gallagher and Marc Cucurella could leave.
In the summer of 2023, Chelsea waited to spend until after June 30 before spending £448.5m on 11 senior players. That may happen again this summer.
The Blues return to action in the FA Cup against Leeds United on Wednesday as they look to bounce back from their Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.