Chelsea are in ongoing discussions with the Premier League to avoid points being deducted for alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations during Roman Abramovich's ownership of the club, according to multiple reports.
The Russian billionaire bought Chelsea in the summer of 2003 and amassed a fraction of his fortune at the club over the next two decades, leading the Blues to five Premier League titles and a pair of Champions League crowns. Abramovich has been accused of circumventing the financial rules that were put in place during his tenure to achieve this success.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the former governor of Chukotka was forced to relinquish control of the club which was eventually bought for £2.5bn by BlueCo, a joint investment group headed by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. After going through the club's accounts, the new owners noted “potentially incomplete financial reporting”.
According to leaked documents published by The Guardian in November 2023, these irregularities relate to secret payments made during the transfers that led to the arrival of Eden Hazard (in 2012) as well as William and Samuel Eto'o (both 2013). An alleged associate of former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is also thought to have benefited from these secret installments which were not recorded to avoid FFP breaches.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the revelations as “something historic” in August.
If these claims of rigging the system are proven, Chelsea would theoretically be at risk of a points deduction. After all, this was the punishment meted out to Everton and Nottingham Forest last season for overspending. However, The Times claim that Chelsea are in ongoing talks with the Premier League to avoid that heavy penalty and instead settle the matter with a cash fine.
Telegraph go so far as to claim talks are advanced and club insiders insist they will avoid dropping any points.
Chelsea's defense stems from the new owners' approach to transparency. The irregularities were highlighted during the due diligence process which took place before the compulsory sale of the club and raised with the FA, Premier League and UEFA.
At the time of the sale, BlueCo held £150m in reserve to cover any fines that might have arisen from these potential breaches of conduct.
Hazard was signed from Lille for a fee of £32m while Willian (£30m) and Eto'o (free transfer) arrived from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala a day after each other in August 2013. There are claims that the latter two deals included payments made to “Russian entities” separate from each tRANSFER fee.
The Times claim that the discussion of the case is still ongoing and a conclusion is expected by the end of March, while Of the Telegraph the timeline suggests a resolution will be reached in the “coming weeks.”