Chelsea: Blues cop hefty UEFA fine after breaching financial fair play regulations | OneFootball

Barcelona, Lyon, and Aston Villa are also among the clubs facing fines

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Chelsea have been fined up to £78.5million for failing to comply with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules — and could face restrictions on registering new players to compete in the Champions League next season.

The Blues must pay a minimum of £26.7m, plus up to £51.8m in conditional fees.

Aston Villa, Barcelona and Lyon are also among the clubs who have been handed hefty fines from the European football governing body as it tightens its monitoring of clubs’ spending patterns.

UEFA said the analysis covered the financial years ending in 2023 and 2024.

A statement from UEFA on Friday explained that the CFCB’s First Chamber found Chelsea guilty of breaching loss limits over a four-year period.

Chelsea were also fined for having a squad cost ratio of between 80 per cent and 90 per cent, despite the allowable limit being 70 per cent.

A statement from UEFA read: “HNK Hajduk Split, Aston Villa FC, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais agreed to settlement agreements with the CFCB which cover either a 2-year, 3-year or a 4-year period.

“The duration of each settlement agreement is dependent on the clubs’ ability to comply with the Regulations within a specified timeline. Clubs’ final target is to be fully compliant with the football earnings rule by the end of the settlement period (i.e., in 2026/27 season for a 2-year period, in 2027/28 season for a 3-year period, in 2028/29 season for a 4-year period).

“All clubs agreed to pay a fine (conditional and unconditional) which level is based on the size of the assessed breach. The settlement agreements covering a 4-year period further take into account the financial result forecasted for the financial year ending in 2025.”

The statement continued: “All clubs further agreed to be subject to a restriction on the registration of new players on their List A for UEFA club competitions. Such a measure could be conditional, unconditional or both and covers one or more seasons depending on the length of the settlement.

“Moreover, all clubs agreed to reach intermediate annual targets, and to the application of conditional financial and sporting measures should these targets not be met (i.e. stricter restriction on the registration of new players on the list A and exclusion from the next UEFA club competitions for which they will qualify).

“The CFCB First Chamber found that Aston Villa FC (ENG), Chelsea FC (ENG), Panathinaikos FC (GRE) and Beşiktaş JK (TUR) breached the squad cost rule, having reported a squad cost ratio above 80% for 2024 (transitional threshold set for 2024).

Chelsea acknowledged the charge in a statement, which read: “Chelsea FC has entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA concerning a break even deficit reported by the Club under UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Regulations covering the financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024.

“The Club has also agreed to pay a fine as a result of the Club’s squad cost ratio in the 2024 reporting year being between 80% and 90%.

“The Club has worked closely and transparently with UEFA to provide a full and detailed breakdown of its financial reporting, which indicates that the financial performance of the Club is on a strong upwards trajectory.

“Chelsea FC greatly values its relationship with UEFA and considered it important to bring this matter to a swift conclusion by entering into a settlement agreement.”