Chelsea could still be ‘booted out’ of Europe as UEFA threaten further £70m fine, ‘this changes everything’

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Chelsea have enjoyed a pretty good year for the most part, winning the Europa Conference League, qualifying for the Champions League, and flying in the Club World Cup.

However, there has now been a setback off the field, with Chelsea receiving hefty fines for failing to comply with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.

Chelsea have to pay a total of around £27million in fines and could pay up to £52million more if they breach their four-year agreement with UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).

TBR Football’s financial expert Adam Williams explains what has happened to Chelsea, why they have been fined, and what they need to do to avoid further trouble.

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Why Chelsea need to make some ‘serious adjustments’

Williams exclusively told TBR Football: “So Chelsea have essentially negotiated with UEFA to reach this settlement. It’s a four-year plan and, if they breach the terms of the plan, they will be kicked out of the next UEFA competition they play in.

“UEFA’s FFP rules are split into three areas. We only need to worry about the first two here, however. That’s the Football Earnings rule and the Squad Cost Control rule.

“Chelsea have breached the Football Earnings rule for the three years up until the end of 2024-25. This test will be applied every season and is based on a rolling three-season assessment period, during which you are allowed to lose a maximum of around £75million, with that amount scaled up or down depending on the club’s financial health. Chelsea will have the full £75million allowance there, I think.

“This is similar to the Premier League’s PSR system but, crucially for Chelsea, UEFA don’t recognise that intra-group sales of intangible assets, namely the two hotels and a couple of other sales Chelsea made to themselves in their case.

“They have therefore breached the £75million cap significantly, and the size of the fine is proportionate to that. It’s about £17million, with another £70million or so suspended.

“They will be in breach of the settlement and if they don’t hit the staggered targets that are part of the financial plan – they are year-by-year with a view of getting within a final target by the end of the four-year period.

“Secondly, Chelsea have breached the Squad Cost Control rule. This is an annual test, i.e., 1st January to 31 December every year, rather than on a rolling three-year basis. The fine for this is about £9.5million.

“This system was being phased in last year. In 2024, clubs weren’t allowed to spend more than 80 per cent of turnover plus profit on player sales on player and manager wages, agents’ fees and transfers. In 2025, it will be 70 per cent.

“I think the fact that UEFA are threatening clubs with being kicked out of the Champions League changes everything. If the sanctions were only financial, then their FFP rules would basically be like a luxury tax like we see in Major League Baseball, which Boehly will be familiar with as Dodgers co-owner.

“Chelsea are going to have to make some serious adjustments over the next four years to get their operating losses in line with what UEFA deem acceptable.

“Basically, they need to either massively increase revenue or drastically cut costs, or a combination of the two. Otherwise, they’re going to get that extra £70million fine and be booted out of Europe.”

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How Chelsea reacted to UEFA’s judgement

Chelsea acknowledged the charge in a statement, which read: “Chelsea FC has entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA concerning a break even deficit reported by the Club under UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Regulations covering the financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024.

“The Club has also agreed to pay a fine as a result of the Club’s squad cost ratio in the 2024 reporting year being between 80 per cent and 90 per cent.

“The Club has worked closely and transparently with UEFA to provide a full and detailed breakdown of its financial reporting, which indicates that the financial performance of the Club is on a strong upwards trajectory.

“Chelsea FC greatly values its relationship with UEFA and considered it important to bring this matter to a swift conclusion by entering into a settlement agreement.”