Exclusive: Chelsea to be hit by devastating financial blow after dramatic twist

Chelsea are expected to have breached Uefa’s financial rules after learning they will not be able to register income from some of their behind-the-scenes sales, sources have told Football Insider.

The Times reported on 28 August the governing body has confirmed clubs will not be permitted to register earnings from selling assets to sister companies.

Chelsea’s ownership group BlueCo – a consortium spearheaded by Todd Boehly – has made multiple transactions over the past year to help offset the club’s major losses.

The west Londoners sold two Stamford Bridge hotels to a sister company last year for a total of £76.5million.

They also sold their women’s team as part of a similar transaction in June this year, with the deal believed to be worth in excess of £150million.

But sources have told Football Insider Uefa has never permitted clubs to register income from these kinds of sales and Chelsea likely knew they would be breaching the rules.

Although the governing body can potentially ban clubs from European competitions for failing to comply with the financial regulations, the London giants are expected to only be hit with a fine if they are found guilty.

The size of the fine will depend on how much Chelsea have potentially breached the rules by as Uefa has set tariffs in place to provide clarity on the necessary punishment.

Premier League looking to close Chelsea loopholes

The Premier League has so far failed to close the loopholes, which has helped Chelsea avoid a potential profit and sustainability (PSR) breach and a likely points deduction.

The West Londoners posted a loss of £90million in the 2022-23 financial year alone, with the PSR rules stating top-flight clubs can lose a maximum of £105million over a rolling three-year period.

The Premier League proposed to close the loophole at its annual general meeting in June, but it was left two votes short after only 11 clubs backed the motion.

The governing body is believed to be considering a fresh bid to change the rules and could ask clubs to vote on its new proposal as early as next month.

Football Insider revealed on 9 August the Premier League would likely succeed with a new motion if the changes are more closely aligned with the current Uefa rules.

That would mean the regulations would be more focused on football-related profits as opposed to profits generated from non-football-related assets – ensuring at least some of the loopholes would be closed.

In other news, Chelsea have agreed cut-price sponsorship deal.

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