Why Champions League qualification is essential for Chelsea after January window

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 2 Feb 2023 08:24 GMT
• 3 min read

There is pressure on Chelsea to earn a Champions League spot after they spent over €330m in the January transfer window.

The Blues are ten points adrift of fourth-place in the Premier League table after playing 20 games. Over the January window, the side boosted their ranks with a plethora of fresh signings - including the move of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica which broke the British transfer record.

In September, the side were placed on 'watchlist' by UEFA's Club Financial Control Body, who claimed they were among 19 clubs who evaded action due to Covid-related exceptions, but that their spending would be monitored going forward

READ MORE: How Chelsea will line up after €330m January transfer splurge

The club owner Todd Boehly has indeed spent lavishly - but he may come into issues if Chelsea fail to make the Champions League this season.

According to a finance expert, if the west London club fail to earn a top-four place they would miss out on TV money which could be worth at least £90million. They also would need to sell home-grown talent, which would allow them to earn a profit without putting a loss on the books.

How Chelsea can avoid FFP probe

In The Times, Kieran Maguire, a football finance analyst, said: "Chelsea’s wage bill in 2021 was £333 million and that was before the club had made an investment in a myriad of players on long-term contracts who are also presumably very well remunerated.

"I think failure to qualify for the Champions League this season will mean that they will be very much on UEFA’s watchlist. The thing that is most likely to be able to dig Chelsea out is that they do have players who have come through the academy who count as a zero cost in FFP calculations who could be sold for significant sums.

"Selling the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could generate close to £100million between them. That would be pure profit under the new version of UEFAs financial sustainability rules and this more than anything else could prove to be the saviour of Chelsea in the future."

Furthermore, the publication also states that UEFA have recently introduced 'squad cost control': "Clubs will be limited to spending initially 90 per cent of their revenue in a calendar year on player wages, transfers and agents fees — Separately, clubs’ losses will be limited to €60 million over the previous three seasons."