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The Guardian: Chelsea Football Club is facing renewed scrutiny over the manner in which its former owner, Roman Abramovich, funded the club’s success. Leaked files suggest potential breaches of football’s ‘financial fair play’ regulations. These files, emerging from a joint investigation by the Guardian and international partners, reveal secret payments worth millions over a decade, channeled through offshore entities owned by Abramovich. These payments, benefiting Chelsea, raise questions about their declaration in football governing bodies’ accounts.
Key beneficiaries include Eden Hazard’s agent, an associate of ex-manager Antonio Conte, and Chelsea officials. Payments were also linked to the acquisitions of players like Willian and Samuel Eto’o. This information comes from an investigation named ‘Cyprus Confidential,’ involving 3.6 million leaked offshore records.
Chelsea’s finances from 2012 to 2019 are under investigation by the Premier League, following self-reporting of ‘incomplete financial information’ during Abramovich’s ownership. The Football Association and UEFA are also examining Chelsea’s financial dealings, with UEFA already fining the club £8.6 million.
The football finance expert Kieran Maguire said “If there is proof that the club has used third party transactions to circumvent the profitability and sustainability rules then sanctions would be either financial or a points deduction.” And added “The latter is more likely as any commission investigating a club’s circumstances will want to put out a deterrent that dissuades others from repeating such behaviour.”
This situation, combined with Abramovich’s forced sale of Chelsea due to UK sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, casts a shadow over the club’s financial practices during his tenure.
The entire article can be read at the link https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/15/chelsea-fc-face-new-questions-over-how-roman-abramovich-funded-success
