Roman Abramovich helped Chelsea to secure ‘£100m discount’ on a deal
Regarding Chelsea’s financial excess, Roman Abramovich made way for Todd Boehly and Clearlake to take charge. Almost three years after his departure, the Russian oligarch’s influence continues to be felt in SW6.
Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and the other individuals who contributed to the £2.5bn acquisition of Chelsea in May 2022 have subsequently spent an additional £1bn exclusively on new signings.
While there have been a few positive indicators since Enzo Maresca took charge, it’s difficult to contend that finishing 12th, 6th, and currently sitting 4th in the Premier League over the past three seasons represents a worthwhile return on investment.
Conversely, success under Roman Abramovich was almost instantaneous. After buying Chelsea for £60m in 2003, he immediately spent nearly twice that sum on big-name signings.
They came 2nd in year one and, in 2004-05, won their first Premier League title with a then-record points tally. Adjusted for inflation, the signings they made around that time are some of the biggest in history.
Top-10 most expensive Chelsea signings under Roman Abramovich
The current era, which Abramovich’s takeover helped usher in, is very different. As well as Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) complications, the Premier League an increasingly fragmented market.
On top of the established heavyweights, there are upstarts with extraordinarily wealthy owners like Newcastle United and Aston Villa to contend with.
Plus, uber-smart overachievers like Nottingham Forest and Brighton are sand in the gears of the so-called Big Six, proving that the key is not just spending but spending well.
That said, the growing spending gap between Chelsea, the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal is approaching critical mas and, more often than not, insulates them against failure.
Top-10 most expensive Chelsea signings under Roman Abramovich
| Rank | Player | Transfer Fee | From | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romelu Lukaku | £97.7m | Inter | 2021 |
| 2 | Kai Havertz | £72m | Bayer Leverkusen | 2020 |
| 3 | Kepa Arrizabalaga | £71m | Athletic Bilbao | 2018 |
| 4 | Alvaro Morata | £60m | Real Madrid | 2017 |
| 5 | Christian Pulisic | £57m | Borussia Dortmund | 2019 |
| 6 | Fernando Torres | £50m | Liverpool | 2011 |
| 7 | Jorginho | £50m | Napoli | 2018 |
| 8 | Timo Werner | £47.5m | RB Leipzig | 2020 |
| 9 | Ben Chilwell | £45m | Leicester | 2020 |
| 10 | Mateo Kovacic | £40m | Real Madrid | 2019 |
Boehly and Clearlake negotiating financial settlement and could be ‘quids in’
Following the BlueCo consortium’s takeover in 2022, Chelsea self-reported a number of financial irregularities dating back to the Abramovich era to the Premier League.
The issues, which were discovered by Boehly and Clearlake’s lawyers during due diligence for the £2.5bn deal, related to a number of alleged secret off-the-books payments to Chelsea transfer targets.
The payments – which are alleged to have been received by the Willian, Samuel Eto’o and Eden Hazard – helped Chelsea circumvent FFP or, as it is now known, PSR.
The Premier League have since been investigating and the consensus among experts was that this would likely lead to a sporting sanction – a points deduction or transfer embargo, for example.
However, The Times have reported this week that Chelsea are in talks with the league over a financial settlement.
“Part of the reason is that they received a £100m discount on the price that they paid for Chelsea because this liability was discovered during their due diligence.
“It’s a bit like if you want to buy a house but you discover it has some rising damp, you take on the risk but at a lower price.
“If the financial settlement is less than £100m, they could end up – on a net basis – quids-in.