With more than R$ 3.3 billion spent on reinforcements, Chelsea raises financial and sporting questions

With more than €600 million (R$3.3 billion) spent on signings this season, the chelsea broke the bank in the market, but these investments raise several questions about the economic and sporting viability of the club.

shopping fever

In the process of selling the club last year, the previous owner, the Russian Roman Abramovich, had insisted that the future buyer must commit to maintaining a high level of investment, which would allow the Blues to sustain their status.

An expectation that the new buyers, led by the American Todd Boehly, surpassed with the 300 million euros spent in the transfer window of the middle of last year and the same amount in the year-end market.

And that broke the record for the biggest signing in the Premier League, paying 121.3 million euros to have Argentine Enzo Fernández.

Fernández, who arrives in London from Benfica signing a contract for eight and a half seasons with the Blues, was the icing on the cake in this sumptuous Chelsea window.

Coming soon. 🇦🇷🏆 pic.twitter.com/z5uaH5DB44

—Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 1, 2023

The departures of defenders Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger and strikers Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku in mid-2022, as well as injuries to N’Golo Kanté, Reece James and Ben Chilwell, have also forced the club to open the coffers.

But the talent for negotiation of the new owners has not done wonders, except for the accounts of the selling clubs, as Chelsea almost always paid the highest price and well above market value for Wesley Fofana (80 million euros), Marc Cucurella (65 million euros), Mykhailo Mudryk (100 million euros) and Enzo Fernández.

Including the six-month loan from João Félix, provided by Madrid’s athleticthe London club had to pay 11 million euros, in addition to the 7 million euros for the player’s salary, a cost of almost 700 thousand euros per game.

financial engineering

While UEFA has been trying for years to regulate transfer inflation by applying Financial Fair Play (FPF), its compatibility with Chelsea’s investments raises questions.

Boehly and Clearlake, the investment fund that accompanies the American businessman at the head of the club, believe they have found some defense by extending the duration of contracts, which allows extending the amortization of payments over the course of the bond.

Fofana signed until 2029, Badiashile until 2030, Fernández and Mudryk until 2031… With the revenues generated in the transfer windows are accounted for in a single installment in the year of the sale, although the payment is extended over time, it is less difficult to balance the accounts , as long as this policy is not maintained for too long.

The FPF rules will also become more lenient in the coming years, as UEFA will allow, starting next season, the accumulated losses over the last three fiscal years to increase from 30 million euros to 60 million euros. If the club is considered financially healthy, that amount could reach 90 million euros.

But it won’t be easy for the Blues to fulfill them, knowing that the club will lose two big sponsorship contracts for around 68 million euros a year and will have to find replacements.

But the relatively minor sanctions handed down so far to offending teams don’t seem to worry Chelsea owners too much.

risky sports betting

Despite the financial engineering adopted by Chelsea, the verdict of pitch and ball threatens to quickly impose itself.

Currently ranked tenth in the English Championshipten points from the G4, the team will have difficulties to achieve a lucrative classification for the Champions League from Europe.

Without the associated revenues and with 42 players in the squad, the next transfer windows could be conditioned by the departures, which should yield much less than the 60 million euros that the club made with its four main sales this season.

In the long term, although the potential of the players signed is undeniable, the bet is extremely risky, considering the money invested.

The length of contracts can quickly turn into a prison for both the players and the club if the results are not as expected, and changing room management would be very delicate.