Nottingham Forest and Everton breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) has woken up Chelsea. Manchester City have been charged over 115 breaches down the years too, so clubs can’t hide from accountability.
Chelsea spent £1bn on players since Todd Boehly’s 2022-takeover and are selling valuable assets to avoid spiralling debt. Boehly considerably overspent, so he changed course last summer and in January to generate as much money as possible.
Boehly trying to rectify his poor spending as Chelsea owner
Chelsea sold €270m (£232m) worth of players, which is €200m (£172m) more than in 2022/23. Kai Havertz (£65m to Arsenal) and Mason Mount (£55m to Manchester United) were the biggest sales, but Chelsea aren’t finished.
A summer exodus is expected at Stamford Bridge when this season comes to a close. And that money generated may be reinvested on transfers, rather than Boehly dipping into his pocket again.
UEFA had their own Financial Fair Play regulations for European clubs but are now implementing new rules. And while UEFA have been lacking in terms of punishing offenders, the Premier League have not.
Premier League already punishing clubs
Forest have been deducted four points and Everton were initially deducted 10 points, so the league are being tough. When Chelsea post their annual accounts, they’re not allowed a loss greater than £105m across the last three seasons.
Expect to see a lot of players sold in the coming months to make up for Boehly’s lavish spending. Chelsea look set for another mid-table finish despite their expensive squad, so the change in policy can’t do much worse.
Mauricio Pochettino may not have much say on which players stay and go, however, as balancing the books is priority. Chelsea tying their young talent down to long-term contracts means they can extract maximum value through their sales.
In other news, Trevoh Chalobah has an uncertain future at Chelsea
