Chelsea Faces Potential Major Penalty Over Abramovich-Linked Payment

Chelsea may be hit with a significant penalty following the revelation of a controversial payment connected to former owner Roman Abramovich. In May 2022, Abramovich sold the Premier League club to BlueCo, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, for £4.25 billion.

During the takeover process, Chelsea disclosed that they had discovered “incomplete financial information” submitted to football authorities between 2012 and 2019. The club subsequently reported the issue to the Premier League, UEFA, and the FA, prompting an investigation.

In July 2023, Chelsea reached an £8.7 million settlement with UEFA, as the governing body could only review records dating back to the 2018-19 season due to a statute of limitations. The Premier League, however, has no such limitation, and Chelsea is still in talks with them about a financial settlement.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Manchester United missed out on signing Eden Hazard in 2012 after refusing to make a secret multi-million-pound payment to his agent, John Bico, which would have breached Premier League and UEFA regulations.

A Premier League investigation is ongoing into claims that an offshore company linked to Abramovich made a £6 million payment to Bico in 2013, following Chelsea’s £32 million acquisition of Hazard from Lille.

Stefan Borson, former financial advisor to Manchester City, suggested that a rival club may have leaked the information to push for a severe penalty against Chelsea. Borson explained that while Manchester City is facing 115 charges, Chelsea’s situation differs as they have already admitted to the violations. The focus for an independent commission will now be determining the severity of the sanctions, rather than whether the breaches occurred.

Hazard enjoyed a successful career at Chelsea, scoring 110 goals and providing 88 assists in 352 appearances, winning six major trophies before moving to Real Madrid in a £130 million transfer in 2019.