Chelsea files: Blues ‘on a knife edge’ with club facing £70m black hole if poor form keeps them out of Champions League
CHELSEA’S stuttering bid to qualify for the Champions League may not impact Enzo Maresca’s role but it could wipe £70million off his summer budget.
The Blues remain in the hunt for a top five finish but are convincing few that they will be able to get over the line.
And another year away from Europe’s top table will come at quite the cost – with one financial expert saying they are on a “knife edge”.
A run into the knockouts would – thanks to their coefficient ranking and gate receipts – net at least £90m for the west Londoners.
But a year in the Europa League – which they are expected to qualify for via the league or winning the Conference League – would land them just £20m.
And after having to sell hotels and the women’s team to the club’s holding company, BlueCo, in order to dance around the Premier League‘s financial rules – things could get tricky.
Chelsea’s latest financial results showed a profit of £129.6m, but Professor Rob Wilson, an academic lead at University Campus of Football Business, is concerned.
He told SunSport: “Their reported profits are suggesting financial health, but the underlying losses basically indicate a reliance on accounting strategies.
“You can’t trade on accounting strategies forever.
“What you’re doing is essentially just putting off the inevitable, which is at some point you’re going to post a pretty significant loss or you’re going to have to have a big asset sale.
“They are kind of protecting that with the longevity of the player contracts that they’ve been including.
“They are properly on a knife edge in my view.
“They are backing themselves or have already backed themselves into a pretty unmanageable corner.”
KEEP KEPA?
GOALKEEPING has been a hot topic at Chelsea this season and it’s not just restricted to those currently at the club.
The future of Kepa Arrizabalaga is also of interest as his loan at Premier League side Bournemouth nears its end.
The world’s most expensive keeper is desperate to stay on the South Coast to the extent that he would be willing to take a pay cut on his present wages of around £170,000 a week.
Kepa, 30, has a year left on his contract at Chelsea but he knows there is no future for him at Stamford Bridge.
Even though there are serious questions about the suitability of Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen, there are other keepers further up the pecking order.
Even untried teenager Mike Penders seems to be more popular with Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca than Spaniard Kepa, who cost a whopping £71.6 million in 2018.
Bournemouth are keen on a permanent deal and it’s believed one could be struck for around £25 million.
Kepa has played the last 14 games in all competitions for Bournemouth and is close to manager and fellow Spaniard Andoni Iraola.
There has been speculation that Bournemouth fancy Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher but Kepa is more likely to be the club’s number one next season.
BLUECO NO-GO
DROPPING into the Europa League would not only pose financial problems, but a mammoth headache for Chelsea’s American owners.
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali will be forced to place their shares in Ligue 1 side Strasbourg into a “blind trust” if both qualify for the Europa League.
Strasbourg, managed by Englishman Liam Rosenior, have been a BlueCo success story and are just a point off of the Europa League places in Ligue 1.
While their qualification would be celebrated, it would cause an awful lot of admin for the owners.
Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe faced a similar problem.
His company INEOS also owns Nice and Swiss side Lausanne-Sport.
Their ownership of both has been placed into a blind trust, with Nice in the Europa League alongside Manchester United.
Their both being in the same competition also saw UEFA block any transfers between the two – which put a stop to United’s move for defender Jean-Clair Todibo.
Chelsea have sent a number of youth prospects on loan to Strasbourg since the two clubs were brought under the BlueCo umbrella.
Kendry Paez, the Ecuadorian who will complete his move to Chelsea this summer, has been training with Rosenior’s side ahead of a possible loan move next season – which could be barred under these rules.
SECURITY CONCERNS
LEGIA WARSAW’S infamous ultras are on their way to London and the police are on high alert.
Extra cops will be on duty for Thursday’s Conference League quarter-final second leg at Stamford Bridge.
Just 1,000 fans of the Polish club are being allocated official tickets into the away section of the away end.
Although with a sizeable Polish population in London already, there could be more in the home sections of the ground.
Chelsea though are confident that their robust ticket policies will be enough to stop large scale infiltration by visiting supporters.
Legia Warsaw have been dogged by controversy involving their fiery fans. They have been hit with travel bans.
There was trouble in 2023 when the club played Aston Villa in the Conference League – several police officers were hurt in disturbances outside Villa Park.
The Met won’t disclose details of their anti-hooligan policies but issued a statement to Sun Sport which read: “The Met works closely with partners to ensure the safety and security of those attending football matches in London. We want everyone to come and enjoy themselves but we will act decisively to deal with anyone intent on causing trouble.
“We have increased the policing presence for Chelsea’s home match against Legia Warsaw this Thursday to ensure it takes place in a safe and secure environment. This decision was taken following a careful assessment of information and intelligence.”
Warsaw have had their ticket allocation reduced on advice from the Safety Advisory Group and Chelsea.
The statement continued: “We will continue to work with the club and our local partners to ensure the safety of those attending the match and those in the wider community.”
NO PROBE FOR TODD
Despite outraged Chelsea fans firing off a letter of complaint to the Premier League demanding a probe into the club chairman’s links to an unauthorised ticket resale site, the police won’t be knocking on Boehly’s door anytime soon.
Supporters have openly protested about the fact the leading figure in the Stamford Bridge boardroom is cashing in with a 40 percent stake in Vivid Seats – a US-based outfit that passes on match tickets, often at vastly inflated prices.
The Premier League is currently considering options on what to do about the tricky situation – after all on their own website they advise customers to exercise ‘extreme caution’ when dealing with companies like Vivid Seats.
But any investigation is a long way off as so far, English football’s governing body will only confirm receipt of the letter from the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust.
However, it is still a delicate state of affairs with the Premier League under pressure to investigate the business dealings of one of the game’s most high profile players.
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
CHELSEA Women’s final away game of the WSL season has been selected for live broadcast by the BBC.
And a kick off time has now been finalised with The Blues heading to Tottenham on Sunday, May 4 and it gets underway at 2.15pm.
NEW INITIATIVE
ANYONE attending Sunday’s home game against Ipswich will have noticed the large number of brightly coloured flags fluttering in The Shed End before kick off.
The plan to liven up Stamford Bridge comes from fans’ group We Are The Shed, who are also masterminding the creation of a singing section in the famous stand.
While it’s not exactly keeping the blue flag flying high, it’s good to see that some supporters are not just giving up on the fading atmospheres at Premier League grounds.
Where English stadiums were once revered for their noise and sway, they are now silent tourist attractions. Keep up the good work.