Have Chelsea broken Financial Fair Play rules?

Stuart Telford

• 17 Jan 2023 15:52 GMT
• 3 min read

Mykhailo Mudryk's signing from Shakhtar Donetsk has taken Chelsea's spending over the €470 million mark since Todd Boehly became owner last May. Are the Blues in breach of Financial Fair Play?

Chelsea agreed a deal with Shakhtar for Mudryk last week which will see them pay €70m up front with a further €30m to follow in add-ons.

He was the fifth arrival of a still-open winter transfer window, following Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana, who were acquired for a combined €73.5m - €11m of that a loan fee to Atletico Madrid for Felix.

READ: Is Todd Boehly getting his transfer advice from social media?

Alongside last summer's splurge which saw, among other arrivals, Marc Cucurella become the most expensive left-back of all time, it makes for an eye-watering sum of money, and some have begun to question whether Boehly and Chelsea have been playing within the rules.

UEFA's ruling on the matter is that a club can spend up to €5m more than they earn over a three-year period. They can exceed this level up to €30m if the cost is covered by the owner. In June, permitted losses over a three-year period were amended up to €60m.

Clubs have also been given three years to implement these changes.

READ: Chelsea's 10 most expensive transfers of all time

Chelsea may be running at a net loss on transfers since Boehly took charge - less than €60m has been recouped, with Timo Werner's €20m return to RB Leipzig their biggest score by that measure - but that doesn't paint the whole picture.

More Harry Potter than Graham Potter?

Across the last three years, Chelsea have been crowned European and World champions. Their 2021 Champions League win under Thomas Tuchel generated €120m alone. The Blues most recent three-year accounts showed just a €5.7m loss according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

"With regards to Financial Fair Play, the accounting is more Harry Potter than Graham Potter," he was quoted as saying by the BBC.

But the truth is that not too much financial wizardry has been needed to keep Chelsea within the letter of the law.