Chelsea have been hit with a financial UEFA sanction that will prevent them from registering new players for the upcoming UEFA Champions League campaign — unless they make significant player sales.
According to The Times, the Blues must balance their books before they can fully participate in European football’s premier club competition. Last season, the west London side made history by becoming the first club to win all of Europe’s club tournaments, clinching the UEFA Europa Conference League after defeating Real Betis in the final.
Despite that success, UEFA’s financial regulations — particularly the amortisation rules around transfer spending — are now catching up with them. Chelsea reportedly have yet to amortise the transfer costs tied to their Conference League-winning squad.
Under UEFA rules, clubs must balance spending on new players with income generated from sales, especially when it comes to players registered under ‘List A’. According to the same report, Chelsea need to raise approximately £60 million (R1.4 million) to meet these financial requirements and register their new signings for the upcoming UEFA Champions League campaign.
The likes of Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, EstevAo, Dario Essugo, Andrey Santos, Mamadou Sarr, and Mike Penders are all hoping to be registered for next season’s Champions League squad. But unless Chelsea offload existing players to free up space, they may be unable to do so.
Fortunately for the Blues, they are not required to sell players who featured in their title-winning campaign, nor those who were out on loan. This includes the likes of Raheem Sterling, João Félix, Ben Chilwell, Renato Veiga, and Axel Disasi — all of whom could be sold to help resolve the situation.
That said, even members of the Conference League-winning team are not completely exempt. Noni Madueke, for example, has attracted strong interest from Arsenal and is valued at £50 million (R1.2 billion) — a sale that could go a long way in easing Chelsea’s financial pressure and lifting the registration restriction.
In the meantime, Chelsea have more immediate matters to focus on as they prepare to face Fluminense in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup — with hopes of securing their second title in the competition.
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