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This Thursday evening, Chelsea will welcome Tottenham to Stamford Bridge on behalf of the 30th day of the Premier League. Sixth with one less match, the Blues hope to win this London derby to stay in the qualification in the Champions League. This is one of the objectives of management since taking power in May 2022 after an Abramovitch novel era marked by many successes. But since their arrival, new leaders have experienced some difficulties, despite massive investments in the last Mercatos. This had the consequence of alerting the Premier League concerning the violation of financial fair play and the limits imposed by the rules of profitability and financial sustainability.
FIFA also follows the case closely. This has been the case for a few years, even before Todd Boehly and other shareholders. In November 2023, Chelsea had been caught by the patrol for litigious transfers dating back ten years. The new management had defended itself by explaining that it had nothing to do with these stories, because it was not yet in power. On the other hand, the new bosses of the club were there when the club was pointed out in 2024 concerning the colossal losses of almost € 300 million, including € 105 million for the financial year 2022-23. The first since the passage under the American pavilion. It should be remembered that the Premier League authorizes € 125 million in losses on three seasons concerning financial fair play.
A new ploy with the women's team
The CFC was well above the limits imposed and therefore risked very large sanctions on the part of the Premier League if things did not go back to normal. Todd Boehly and his teams therefore tried to find solutions to avoid problems. A year ago, in April 2024, the Daily Mail had revealed that the Blues, who were to rebalance their accounts, had notably sold two hotels to Blueco 22, the consortium which bought the London stable. All for just over € 88 million. An astonishing maneuver, but which is authorized on the other side of the English Channel. Concerning this point of the regulation, The Sun specifies that the “Premier League authorizes clubs to sell assets to so -called affiliated companies, provided that this is done at their fair market value.”
A year later, Chelsea, who must still clean up her finances, used this ploy again. Indeed, the CFC has decided to sell its women's football team to its parent company, to itself. “In its 2023-24 accounts, partially disclosed on Monday, the Stamford Bridge club revealed that it has raised 198 million pounds Sterling (€ 236 million) thanks to the” repositioning of the Chelsea Football Club Women “as part of a” subsidiary sale “to the company Mother Blueco 22. Chelsea thus transferred the property of its female team to Blueco, Under the hand of Todd Boehly, only two days before the closing of the financial year 2023-2024 »explain The Sun.
An overvalued sale?
The exact figure of the sale of the female club has not been disclosed, but the English media estimates that it is around € 180 million. The Sun Add that: “Another active asset is the stadium of Kingsmeadow, former home of Kingstonians and AFC Wimbledon, which is the usual home of Sonia Bompastor's WSL leaders. These agreements made it possible to transform a loss of 90 million pounds sterling (€ 107 million) in 2022-23 in a profit before taxes of 128 million pounds sterling (€ 153 million) last season. But even if there is no serious chance that Chelsea was accused of a PSR violation for last season, the club confirmed that its assessment of the agreement has not yet been approved by the League. “
Indeed, the first League must rule on the value of this sale, namely if the price set is fair and consistent or if it has been inflated. It should be remembered that the Women's Women's section, which has the most titled team in Europe, was sold for just over € 50 million in the American Michele Kang. Chelsea could therefore be forced to review her figures downwards and reduce the price announced. The legal service of the Premier League has still not approved this new sleight of hand on the part of the London-based stable, which patients waiting to know its fate.
