After their crazy spending spree, Chelsea has started a fire sale to get rid of some of their players so they can meet financial rules and get ready for a new era under Mauricio Pochettino.
In their first year as part of an American group, Chelsea spent more on transfer fees than any other club ever has in a year, but they still finished 12th in the Premier League, which was their worst finish since 1994.
With the signing of forward Christopher Nkunku by RB Leipzig this week, the club has now spent more than £500 million ($635 million).
Most of Chelsea’s business, though, is about players leaving. Key members of the team that won the Champions League just two years ago are leaving.
N’Golo Kante, a midfielder for France, has already said goodbye and is joining a group of famous soccer players going to Saudi Arabia. Other Chelsea players are likely to follow him.
Chelsea’s chances of following the Premier League’s financial fair play (FFP) rules could depend on how much money they get from Saudi Arabia.
Over a three-year period, clubs can lose up to £105 million, but they can get money back for spending on infrastructure, youth football, and women’s football.
Before LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity group Clearlake Capital took over, Chelsea had already lost £275 million in the last two years of Roman Abramovich’s rule. This meant that they were likely to be well over that limit.
Some of the club’s new players from last season, like Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk, were given eight-year contracts so that their transfer fees wouldn’t hurt the club’s finances too much.
Transfer fees are spread out over the number of years of the contract for FFP purposes.
On the other hand, sales can be recorded in full as soon as they are made, and Chelsea is in a hurry to make deals before the end of the football financial year on June 30.
Several of Chelsea’s Premier League rivals are watching to see if there are any good deals to be had.
Mateo Kovacic, a player from Croatia, is almost ready to sign with English champions Manchester City for an initial fee of £25 million.
Manchester United is very interested in signing English player Mason Mount, who has just one year left on his contract at Chelsea.
Kai Havertz is close to signing with London rivals Arsenal for £65 million, and Marc Cucurella could join Newcastle for about half of what it cost Chelsea to sign him from Brighton last year, which was £60 million.
The Saudis are making waves with their interest in Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Hakim Ziyech.
Last season, all three of them were out of favour, so getting their salaries off the books and getting a big transfer fee would be a blessing.
People say there is a conflict of interest because the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Clearlake do business together.
Gary Neville, who used to be captain of Manchester United, has asked for a ban on transfers from Premier League clubs to Saudi Arabia to “protect the integrity of the game.”
At the time of Chelsea’s takeover last year, the Premier League reportedly looked into any ties between the club’s owners and the PIF and was happy to find that there were none.
On his return to English football, Pochettino still has a lot of hard work to do to change Chelsea’s luck on the pitch.
The club’s leaders are counting on the Argentine to develop the many young players at his disposal, just as he did while he was in charge of Tottenham from 2014 to 2019.
But the competition at the top of the Premier League is even tougher now that PIF-backed Newcastle has joined the traditional top six of City, United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham in the fight for places in the Champions League.
And Chelsea’s reckless spending over the past year could end up helping their rivals if Havertz, Mount, and Kovacic do well at their new clubs.
