Revealed: Why Chelsea Will Pay UEFA €10m Fine Regarding Breaches During Roman Abramovich Era

Chelsea have been handed a fine of €10m (£8.6m/$11m) by the European football governing body UEFA and the Blues have agreed to pay the fee after they themselves had reported ‘incomplete financial reporting’ during the ownership of Roman Abramovich.

For the unversed, Abramovich had taken over at Chelsea in June 2003, and was recently forced to sell the club in 2022 after his involvements related to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Subsequently, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took control of the London-based club in May 2022, and they had themselves reported flaws in the club’s finances, regarding which they approached UEFA.

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The Blues have released a statement, revealing how the current owners referred the club to UEFA for review and they have settled an agreement with a €10 million fine due to the ‘incomplete financial’ reporting.

“Chelsea FC’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on 30 May 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions during the club’s previous ownership,” read the club statement.

“Immediately following the completion of the purchase, Chelsea self-reported these matters to UEFA. Chelsea has fully cooperated and assisted UEFA with its investigation of these matters and, following an analysis by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body, the club has entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA. Under that settlement the club is to pay a financial contribution of €10 million to UEFA as a fixed payment,” they informed further.

The Blues had previously been close to flouting financial fair play regulations as they splashed £600m in the transfer market, and the club had even reported losses of £121m ($149m) in March however since then they have gotten rid of many first-team stars, selling the likes of Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, and Kalidou Koulibaly among others.

Chelsea are still not done in the transfer window as they look to get rid of more deadwood, hoping to move on Callum Hudson Odoi, while they remain eager to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo who could command a fee in the region of £100m.