Chelsea plead with Premier League to avoid points deduction for secret Roman Abramovich payments | OneFootball

Chelsea are in ongoing discussions with the Premier League to avoid a points deduction for alleged breaches of financial fair play (FFP) regulations during Roman Abramovich's ownership of the club, according to multiple reports.

The Russian billionaire bought Chelsea in the summer of 2003 and pumped a small proportion of his fortune into the club over the subsequent two decades, propelling the Blues to five Premier League titles and a pair of Champions League crowns. Abramovich has been accused of circumventing the financial rules which were put in place during his tenure to achieve that success.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the former governor of Chukotka was forced to relinquish control of the club which was eventually purchased for £2.5bn by BlueCo, a joint investment group fronted by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. After going through the club's accounts, the new owners flagged "potentially incomplete financial reporting".

According to leaked documents published by The Guardian in November 2023, these irregularities relate to secret payments made during the transfers which led to the arrivals of Eden Hazard (in 2012) as well as Willian and Samuel Eto'o (both 2013). An alleged associate of former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is also thought to have benefitted from these secret instalments which were not recorded to supposedly avoid breaches of FFP.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described theses revelations as "something historic" in August.

Transfers involving Eden Hazard (left) and Willian are both under scrutiny / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages

If these allegations of cheating the system are proven, Chelsea would theoretically be at risk of a points deduction. After all, that was the punishment dolled out to Everton and Nottingham Forest last season for overspending. However, The Times claim that Chelsea are in ongoing talks with the Premier League to avoid that severe penalty and instead settle the case with a cash fine.

The Telegraph go so far as to claim that talks are advanced and club insiders insist that they will avoid losing any points.

Chelsea's defence stems from the new owners' approach of transparency. The irregularities were highlighted during the due diligence process which took place before the club's enforced sale and were raised to the FA, Premier League and UEFA.

At the time of the sale, BlueCo kept £150m in reserve to cover any fines that could have been raised from these potential breaches of conduct.

Hazard was signed from Lille for a sum in the region of £32m while Willian (£30m) and Eto'o (free transfer) arrived from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala one day after each other in August 2013. There are allegations that the latter two deals included payments made to "Russian entities" separate from any transfer fee.

The Times claim that the discussion of the case is still ongoing and an outcome is expected before the end of March, while The Telegraph's timeline suggests that a resolution will be reached in "the next few weeks".