Chelsea avoided potential penalties under the Premier League`s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) by selling their women`s team to their own parent company for nearly £200 million.
While the complete financial figures for the year ending June 30, 2024, are still pending, Chelsea announced a pre-tax profit of £128.4 million. This is a significant turnaround from the £90.1 million loss reported the previous year.
Premier League officials confirmed in January that no club had exceeded the permitted losses of £105 million over three seasons, which included Chelsea.
Chelsea`s statement mentioned benefiting from “increased profit on disposal of player registrations and repositioning of Chelsea Football Club Women Ltd,” citing a “profit on disposal of subsidiaries of £198.7m.”
Although the exact sum from the women`s team sale to BlueCo 22, the parent company, is not fully public, it is believed to constitute the majority of this additional revenue.
This follows the previous season`s sale of the two hotels located at Stamford Bridge to the same parent company.
In total, Chelsea has generated £275 million over two seasons through “inter-group accounting profit” from selling assets to BlueCo, primarily owned by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Since the takeover in 2022, following Roman Abramovich`s forced sale, Chelsea has spent over £1 billion on player acquisitions.
Last season`s spending exceeded £400 million on players like Moises Caiceido, Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, and Romeo Lavia.
However, due to the accounting practice of “amortisation,” this massive expenditure is spread over several years, resulting in an £80 million charge in the annual accounts, in addition to similar amounts from prior signings.
Chelsea also generated nearly £240 million from player sales, including Kai Havertz`s £65 million transfer to Arsenal, reporting a “profit on disposal of player registrations of £152.5m.”
Despite these financial maneuvers, overall revenue decreased to £468.5 million, a £44 million reduction, primarily because the men`s team did not participate in the Champions League.
News of these financial tactics has been met with criticism from fans.
One fan commented it`s "a hedge fund with shin pads."
Another stated, "This is not sustainable."
One quipped, "Next year we`re selling ourselves the lawnmower for £90m."
Another added, "Going to run out of stuff to sell themselves soon."
