Abramovich has already earned money on Chelsea

Nine years after entering football, the Russian billionaire has achieved economic success there as well. 

The English football giant owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich failed to advance from the Champions League group stage for the first time during his tenure. The European fiasco of London’s Chelsea was even bigger because it became the first defending champion to be knocked out right at the start of the competition. But despite the sporting failure, this year is exceptional for Abramovich. For the first time since his arrival in 2003, Chelsea reported a profit – according to British media, the equivalent of 1.7 million euros. Just a year ago, The Blues had recorded a loss of more than 80 million. “They started behaving more economically than in past years, and the new CEO Ron Gourlay significantly contributed to that,” said Viktor Kolar, the agent of the London club’s icon Petr Cech, for the Economic Daily.

Profit thanks to transfers
According to Kolar, the main reason for Chelsea’s economic success is the improved transfer policy of Abramovich and his team. “They managed to stabilize the difference between buying and selling players, so they didn’t lose as many millions as before,” says the leading Czech agent. What exactly does that mean in numbers? According to the portal transfermarkt, in the 2011/12 season Chelsea bought players for 109 million euros and sold them for 94 million – meaning they lost “only” fifteen million euros. In the previous season, this figure had risen to eight times that amount. “The transfer policy is the most significant factor. But the positive financial result was also helped by unexpected income, especially from winning the Champions League,” claims Slovak football agent Jozef Tokos. Chelsea in fact received the largest share from the Champions League prize pool, almost sixty million euros. Compared with previous years, when they usually finished in the quarter-finals, that is twenty million more.

What’s missing is the arena
Over the nine years under Roman Abramovich, Chelsea transformed from an average Premier League team to the elite of European clubs. In the revenue rankings, they already hold fourth place behind Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich. But they are still missing something to threaten these European giants. “Chelsea still has reserves in ticket revenues, since their stadium Stamford Bridge holds just under 42,000 people,” notes Tokos. That is why the club’s management has been trying for two years to increase its capacity by at least ten thousand seats, but the process is complicated by the fact that the arena is located in London’s inner city. (...)