According to several sources, Chelsea is currently negotiating with the Premier League to avoid losing points for alleged violations of financial fair play (FFP) rules while Roman Abramovich owned the team.
After purchasing Chelsea in the summer of 2003, the Russian billionaire invested a small amount of his wealth in the team over the next 20 years, helping the Blues win five Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies. In order to attain that accomplishment, Abramovich has been charged with evading the financial regulations that were established during his leadership.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the former Chukotka governor was forced to give up control of the club, which was later bought for £2.5 billion by BlueCo, a joint investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. The new owners highlighted "potentially incomplete financial reporting" after reviewing the club's financial records.
These anomalies are linked to covert payments made during the trades that resulted in the entrance of Eden Hazard in 2012, as well as Willian and Samuel Eto'o in 2013, according to hacked documents that The Guardian published in November 2023. These covert installments, which were not documented in order to allegedly avoid FFP violations, are also believed to have benefited an accused associate of former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.
Richard Masters, the CEO of the Premier League, called these disclosures "something historic" in August.
In the event that these claims of system cheating are validated, Chelsea could potentially lose points. After all, Everton and Nottingham Forest received the penalty for their excessive expenditure during the previous season. According to The Times, Chelsea is currently negotiating with the Premier League to settle the issue with a monetary fine rather than face that harsh penalty.
According to The Telegraph, discussions have progressed, and club insiders are adamant that they would not drop any points.
Chelsea's defense is based on the openness of the new owners. Prior to the club's forced sale, the FA, Premier League, and UEFA were notified of the irregularities that were discovered during the due diligence process.
BlueCo had £150 million set aside at the time of the sale to meet any fines that might have resulted from these possible conduct violations.
In August 2013, Willian (£30m) and Eto'o (free transfer) joined from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala one day after Hazard, who had been purchased from Lille for around £32m. Claims have been made that payments to "Russian entities" in the latter two transactions were made independently of any transfer fees.
While The Telegraph's timeline indicates that a resolution would be achieved in "the next few weeks," The Times asserts that the matter is still being discussed and that a conclusion is anticipated by the end of March.
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