Chelsea have become the first Premier League club in history to reach £1billion in losses after their latest financial accounts were made public.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took control of Chelsea in the summer of 2022, with their first transfer window included in the 2021/22 report.
Chelsea state that £368million was spent on no fewer than 18 new signings across both the playing and coaching setups during the summer transfer window, with their January exploits set to be included in next year’s report.
The most damning part of this report, however, is the latest operating loss of £235m for the 2021/22 season, which sees their cumulative total reach the £1bn for the first time in Premier League history.
The new owners also spent significant sums to seal their takeover, with former director Marina Granovskaia receiving £35m for her role in completing the sale, plus a smaller compensation fee after she left the club.
The sum of £14m was also split between the other directors involved in the sale.
The financial news comes amid concerns over Chelsea’s ability to meet UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations as they prepare to miss out on Champions League football next season.
The Blues have fallen to 11th in the Premier League and face an uphill battle to seal any form of European football next year, with victory in this season’s Champions League likely their only route back to the competition.
Caretaker manager Frank Lampard will have overseen a minor miracle if he manages to secure some form of continental football for Chelsea next year.
There are no indications that Chelsea will overhaul the likes of Brighton, Brentford and Aston Villa, all of whom continue to pick up points. Then there’s the small matter of overcoming Real Madrid in the Champions League, and even if that’s somehow achieved over two legs, Manchester City or Bayern Munich are waiting in the semis.
Lampard said after the 1-0 loss to Wolves that playing Real Madrid will be ‘completely different’, and he’ll be hoping those words ring true in terms of performance level.