Abramovich turned a toy into a money-making machine

After ten years, English football giant Chelsea has finally recorded a significant profit. Last season, the club earned nearly €24 million.

In the ten years since taking over Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich has bought more than 70 players, spending nearly €1 billion on transfer fees. Year after year, the Russian billionaire owner of the English club paid little attention to negative financial results – sporting success was the priority. But now, things are changing. According to financial results published by Bloomberg, the current Premier League leaders have, for the first time in the Abramovich era, posted a significant profit – almost €24 million. The key factors behind this success were a sensible transfer policy and increased revenues from TV rights sales. “Chelsea is now a model club whose revenues grow every year,” Slovak football agent Jozef Tokos told the Economic Daily.

The era of mega signings is ending
For comparison, in the previous reporting period – from the start of July to the end of June – Chelsea posted a loss of almost €64 million. The introduction of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules is now bringing tangible results. “Even more important than Chelsea’s profit are the new FFP rules, which keep the London club, as well as other clubs owned by wealthy investors, under control,” noted Tokos. If the rules are broken – meaning clubs become too indebted – UEFA can impose sanctions ranging from multimillion-euro fines and transfer bans to possible exclusion from European competitions. “Implementing and following FFP is a major challenge. A football club must ensure balanced finances in this new regime,” reads Chelsea’s statement on its financial results. The club’s positive balance was also boosted by the unexpected sale of elite defender David Luiz in June 2014, when Paris Saint-Germain paid nearly €50 million for the Brazilian international. Chelsea’s total revenue for the 2013/14 season reached €413 million, a figure expected to place them back in the top five richest football clubs in the world.

They will never reach Real
For nine years, Real Madrid has topped Deloitte’s Football Money League rankings, and in the latest list – to be published at the end of January – they will secure a record tenth title. “Chelsea cannot match the huge revenues of clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, or Bayern Munich. Apart from not having a stadium as large as theirs, Chelsea also cannot compete with them in terms of domestic and European trophies,” said Tokos. “On the other hand, Chelsea is an excellent example of how to build a top club in ten years. The problem is that today this is no longer possible.” Under FFP rules, victories can no longer be achieved by simply buying a host of the world’s best players. Clubs can only spend what they earn.