Chelsea have been hit with a record fine of £10.75million after breaking transfer rules during the Roman Abramovich era.
And the Blues have also been slapped with an academy transfer ban and a suspended first-team transfer ban.
The Premier League has dished out the punishment after finding that illicit payments were doled out to players, unregistered agents and others between 2011 and 2018.
Chelsea’s charges are mainly focused on transfers carried out between the 2010-11 and 2015-16 seasons – including deals for major stars such as Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o and Willian.
In 2022, the club self-reported potential historical rule breaches and the Premier League has now completed two separate disciplinary processes.
The crackdown on Chelsea has left many wondering when Manchester City will face a verdict after being smacked with 115 charges in 2023 for alleged breaches of financial rules.
Chelsea’s fine is thought to be more expensive than the highest annual salaries they dish out to Reece James and Wesley Fofana, as per Capology.
The fine also smashes the previous record set by West Ham, who were hit for 5.5m back in 2007 after breaching rules when signing Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
The Blues said in a statement: ‘Chelsea Football Club is pleased to confirm that the club has reached a settlement with the Premier League in relation to historical regulatory matters that were self-reported by the club in 2022.
‘As previously announced, the club voluntarily and proactively disclosed to all applicable regulators potential historical rule breaches, including incomplete financial reporting that took place over a decade ago.
‘During an extensive Premier League investigation, the club proactively disclosed many thousands of documents. Also, when requests for information were made by the Premier League, the club promptly provided comprehensive responses and facilitated all lines of inquiry to support a complex and extremely thorough process.
‘Furthermore, during the investigation, additional evidence was provided to the club by a third party regarding potential breaches of Premier League rules committed by a former employee in a small number of historical academy transactions. This information was immediately and proactively self-reported to the Premier League.’
A Premier League statement today read: ‘The Premier League has concluded two separate disciplinary processes involving Chelsea Football Club, following the Club voluntarily self-reporting potential historical breaches of rules.
‘Two sanction agreements have been ratified by an independent Commission under which Chelsea FC has accepted fines totalling £10.75 million for breaches of the Premier League’s rules relating to Financial Reporting, Third Party Investment and Youth Development
‘The Club has been sanctioned by the Premier League with an immediate nine-month Academy Transfer ban and a suspended one-year first-team player transfer ban (suspended for two years).’
More to follow.
