Chelsea face 'trouble on horizon' and 'much bigger' FFP punishment than Everton

02 February 2024 , 13:55

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Todd Boehly has spent over a billion on transfers since arriving

Chelsea have been warned they could face a worse punishment than Everton's 10 docked points if they're found to have breached Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

The Blues have spent huge sums since Todd Boehly's consortium purchased the club, twice breaking their transfer record. Prior to that Roman Abramovich also shelled out millions during his ownership, including spending a then-record fee to land Romelu Lukaku in his final year.

The Premier League has underlined their desire to be ruthless when it comes to implementing financial rules, deducting points from Everton earlier this year. Clubs are allowed to lose £105m over a three-year rolling time frame, with the end of each accounting year coming on June 30.

Everton have since been charged again, along with Nottingham Forest. Chelsea, who self-reported themselves to the authorities for historic issues, could still cop a punishment when an investigation concludes if they are found to have breached the rules.

And Stefan Borson, who was previously an advisor for Manchester City, is now adamant Chelsea will be found in breach of FFP - although the club have received no charges as of yet.

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He told TalkSport: "They've used the tricks of amortization. (But) in my mind, there’s certainly trouble on the horizon and they'll certainly fail FFP for the current season. This is unless, and it seems to be very unlikely, by June 30, they sell well over £100m worth of players.

"But the window they can now do that, with the (January) window shutting is going to be very small. The season is going to finish and then we've got the Euros. So if you look at someone like Conor Gallagher, if Chelsea want to sell before June 30, they'll have to move very quickly. And again, likely buyers are going to know that Chelsea need to sell players."

Borson also added: "This breach Chelsea are lined up for is much bigger than Everton's breach and most importantly from an aggravating perspective, they (Premier League) will consider it (a) deliberate (breach). Chelsea can't hide behind building a stadium or inadvertently breaching FFP."

Everton have already been docked points for financial breaches (Everton FC via Getty Images)

Many have questioned how Chelsea have been able to fork out the sums they have over the past 18 months. Jurgen Klopp, who battled with the Blues for the likes of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in the summer, said earlier this season: "I don't understand how it's possible, but it's obviously not for me to explain how it works."

Chelsea have been approached for comment.

Samuel Meade