Chelsea admits the government sanctions imposed on former owner Roman Abramovich were a factor in the club’s losses of £121.3 million ($148.8 million) for the 2021-22 season.

In March of last year, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the UK government put restrictions on Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Ministers said that he was a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Chelsea was given a special license that made it hard for them to sell tickets, take reservations for events, and even sign contracts with players.

The rules stayed in place until May 30, 2016, when a new group led by American businessman Todd Boehly finished buying the club.

Even with the sanctions, Chelsea said in a statement on Monday that sales had gone up from £434.9 million the year before to £481.3 million. The amount of money made from business grew to £177.1 million.

The financial results don’t include the players Chelsea has bought in the last two transfer windows, when they are said to have spent around £600 million.

The 2021/22 results show that £118 million was spent on the playing squad, which included renegotiating the contracts of existing players. However, the sales of players like Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori, and Kurt Zouma brought in £123 million.

Chelsea said that, despite the losses and the effect of the sanctions, they were still following the financial rules of UEFA and the Premier League.

The club said that the sanctions would also hurt the club’s finances “in the coming years.”

As of right now, Chelsea is 10th in the Premier League table. This is because their recent play has improved under manager Graham Potter.