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Metro
4 hours ago
- Metro
Why Chelsea have been fined £78.5m by UEFA for breaching financial rules
Chelsea, Aston Villa and Barcelona are among the clubs that have been heavily fined by UEFA, with the Blues to pay up to £78.5million. Enzo Maresca's side are currently at the Club World Cup where they will take on Palmeiras in the quarter-finals in the early hours of Saturday morning. While Chelsea will pocket a hefty payday for their participation at the FIFA tournament they have been hit with a financial blow by European's Governing Body. It was announced on Friday that the Premier League giants had been slapped with a huge fine and could face restrictions on registering new players for the Champions League next season. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. As part of their settlement agreement, Chelsea will pay a fine of €31m (£26.7m), with up to €60m (£51.8m) in conditional fees. Meanwhile Aston Villa have been ordered to pay €11m (£9.5m), in addition to a €15m (£12.9m) conditional fine. Barcelona, Lyon, Besiktas, Panathinaikos and Hajduk Split have also been punished but none so more than Chelsea. UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) have found Chelsea guilty of breaching two major regulations. Firstly, they have breached the 'football earnings rule' in relation to when the club's owners effectively sold two hotels they owned back to themselves to raise £76.5m in revenue. They also sold their women's team back to themselves to help balance the books. While this loophole was allowed by the Premier League, UEFA have taken exception to it. More Trending Secondly, they broke the 'squad cost rule' which says a club can only spend a maximum of 70 per cent of their revenue on transfers – Chelsea spent between 80-90 per cent in the last financial year. As part of their settlement agreement, UEFA have set certain financial targets for the Blues over the next four years. If these are not met, the conditional fines will become active. Additionally, both Chelsea and Villa will only be allowed to register new players in their Champions League and Europa League squads for next season if the player's cost is not greater than that of the player they replace. 'Chelsea FC has entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA concerning a break even deficit reported by the Club under UEFA's Financial Sustainability Regulations covering the financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024. 'The Club has also agreed to pay a fine as a result of the Club's squad cost ratio in the 2024 reporting year being between 80% and 90%. 'The Club has worked closely and transparently with UEFA to provide a full and detailed breakdown of its financial reporting, which indicates that the financial performance of the Club is on a strong upwards trajectory. 'Chelsea FC greatly values its relationship with UEFA and considered it important to bring this matter to a swift conclusion by entering into a settlement agreement.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Barcelona's stance on signing Marcus Rashford after Nico Williams transfer snub MORE: Can Estevao Willian play against Chelsea in Fifa Club World Cup tonight? MORE: Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey charged with five counts of rape
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
Chelsea handed massive fine over spending breaches – and more could follow
Villa, who returned to the Champions League last season after more than 40 years away from European football's top competition, were fined €5 million immediately with the possibility of another €15 million over the next three years. Telegraph Sport reported this week that Villa owners V Sports will sell a stake in its women's team to an external investor and the rest within the group, generating a profit of around £55 million. The club is also looking at the sale of the new live indoor venue at Villa Park, The Warehouse, which is as yet unfinished. In addition, Chelsea and Aston Villa have both fallen on the wrong side of Uefa's new financial control system, the squad cost rules (SCR) which dictate no more than 80 per cent of revenue can be spent on wages and additional costs such as agents' fees. In Chelsea's case that has resulted in an €11 million fine, and for Villa €6 million. Premier League financial controls do not forbid clubs from selling assets within the ownership group, and nor have the 20 clubs taken steps to rule out player swaps. As a consequence both clubs will pass the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR). At the Premier League AGM last month, there was so little support for a change to PSR that clubs did not even progress to vote on the issue. Also hit hard were Barcelona, fined €60 million with €45 million of that suspended over two years for declaring non-admissible income. The troubled French club Lyon, at which US investor John Textor has recently stepped down from the board, was fined €12.5 million with a further €37.5 million suspended over four years. Lyon still face the prospect of relegation to Ligue 2 by French regulators. Villa wish to avoid a mass exodus of stars and plan one 'big' sale, with the future of Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez still uncertain. Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Leander Dendoncker and Louie Barry will be more obvious sales this summer.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Chelsea, Aston Villa and Barcelona fined by Uefa over spending rule breaches
Chelsea, Aston Villa and Barcelona have been fined by Uefa for breaking financial rules. Chelsea have been hit with an unconditional €31m (£27m) bill but could face a further €60m (£52m) fine if they do not comply moving forward. Barcelona and Villa have been fined €15m (£13m) and €11m (£9.5m) respectively but are also at risk of further conditional penalties. The conditional fines for Chelsea (€60m), Villa (€15m) and Barcelona (€45m) relate to agreed plans across four-year, three-year and two-year periods respectively. Chelsea and Villa breached Uefa's football earnings and squad-cost rules (SCR), the latter of which limits clubs operating in European competition to spending 80% of their revenue on player costs. Villa face being fined €5m for every year they breach financial rules. A new three-year cycle commenced in 2024-25. Villa are confident they can absorb the fine and strengthen Unai Emery's squad this summer while agreeing to move in line with SCR. Villa and Uefa are understood to have agreed a 'glidepath' to meet their targets. Villa, who are also confident of avoiding a possible points deduction from the Premier League after moving to sell their women's team to comply with financial rules, are adamant they do not need to sell key players. The future of Emiliano Martínez, however, is uncertain, and while Villa are yet to receive a bid for the Argentina goalkeeper, they are braced for further interest in the 32-year-old, who is under contract until 2029. Chelsea, Manchester United and Atlético Madrid, are thought to hold an interest in the World Cup-winner. Reducing the wage bill is a priority for Villa. On Friday the club confirmed they have terminated the contract of Philippe Coutinho, who has signed permanently for Vasco de Gama, his boyhood club. Villa want to trim the squad and offload fringe players, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden joining Coventry in a £3.5m deal and Emiliano Buendia, Louie Barry and Alex Moreno also poised to depart. Lyon (€12.5m), Besiktas (€900,000) Panathinaikos (€400,000) and Hajduk Split (€300,000) have also been sanctioned by Uefa.
