Chelsea Football Club strategically sold its women`s team in a deal valued at nearly £200 million. This move was reportedly aimed at ensuring compliance with the Premier League`s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and avoiding potential penalties.
The club`s financial report for the year ending June 30, 2024, revealed a pre-tax profit of £128.4 million, a significant turnaround from the £90.1 million loss in the previous year.
Premier League authorities confirmed in January that no club had exceeded the permitted loss limit of £105 million over three seasons, which included Chelsea.
Chelsea`s statement mentioned a “profit on disposal of subsidiaries of £198.7m,” attributing it to “increased profit on disposal of player registrations and repositioning of Chelsea Football Club Women Ltd.”
While the exact financial gain from selling the women’s team to BlueCo 22, the parent company, is not fully disclosed, it is believed to be the primary contributor to this increased income.
This transaction follows a similar strategy from the prior season, where Chelsea sold two hotels located at Stamford Bridge to the same parent company.
Over the past two seasons, Chelsea has generated £275 million through these “inter-group accounting profits” from asset sales to BlueCo, largely owned by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Since the takeover in 2022, following Roman Abramovich`s departure, Chelsea has invested over £1 billion in player acquisitions.
Last season alone saw over £400 million spent on players like Moises Caiceido, Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, and Romeo Lavia.
However, due to the accounting practice of amortizing player transfer fees over contract lengths, the annual financial impact was limited to £80 million, in addition to similar expenses from prior signings.
Despite these financial maneuvers, club revenues decreased by £44 million to £468.5 million, primarily because the men`s team did not participate in the Champions League.
Simultaneously, Chelsea generated nearly £240 million from player sales, including Kai Havertz`s £65 million transfer to Arsenal, resulting in a reported “profit on disposal of player registrations of £152.5m.”
News of these financial strategies has been met with skepticism from fans.
One fan commented it was like "a hedge fund with shin pads."
Another expressed concern about sustainability, saying: "This is not sustainable."
Another fan sarcastically suggested future similar deals: "Next year we`re selling ourselves the lawnmower for £90m."
And another added a note of caution: "Going to run out of stuff to sell themselves soon."
