Chelsea revives its future.

At 2 AM on May 29th (Vietnam time), Chelsea will face Real Betis in the Conference League final. A victory would help the London giants conclude a successful season.

Chelsea will return to the Champions League next season - Photo: Reuters

Five years ago, this would have been considered a failed season for Chelsea. But now things are different.

Back to the Champions League

Chelsea's victory against Nottingham Forest last weekend was historic. After a two-year absence, they finally secured their return to the Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premier League this season.

This wasn't the first time Chelsea had played in the Champions League under billionaire Todd Boehly. But it was the first time Chelsea had participated in the Champions League with a squad almost entirely built by the American owner. There were no longer any "remnants" from the Roman Abramovich era, as manager Thomas Tuchel, Mount, Havertz, Jorginho, and others had all left. The entire management team had also been replaced.

Along with those changes came over 1.4 billion euros thrown into the transfer market (if only considering actual spending - that is, minus revenue, the figure is 800 million euros). Over 800 million euros, plus the wage bill and many other expenses, the total amount billionaire Todd Boehly poured into Chelsea has reached billions of euros.

With such investment, most teams would aim to win major tournaments. But two disastrous seasons from 2022 to 2024 have caused Chelsea to lower their expectations to an extremely low level: qualifying for the Champions League.

A sigh of relief.

It wasn't until the very last minute of the season that billionaire Todd Boehly and Chelsea fans could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

For the past three years, Chelsea has been under intense pressure from Financial Fair Play (PSR) regulations, forcing them to repeatedly circumvent the rules by selling team assets to subsidiaries (even selling the women's team). This temporary solution helped Chelsea get through the first three-year PSR period (2021-2024), but it is certainly not a long-term solution.

And the return of Champions League qualification at the right time promises at least €100 million in revenue from prize money, ticket sales, shirt sales... and possibly even more if they capitalize on the effect to generate additional commercial revenue. Chelsea's future seems to have been revived.

From a dark period, Chelsea now have a much easier time. They boast the youngest squad in the league with an average age of 23.8. Not only that, Chelsea is also one of the clubs with the most homegrown players in the league, with 12, six of whom come from the club's academy.

If Chelsea lacks transfer funds, they can now easily manage the situation thanks to their many valuable young players. By simply selling a few names like Jackson, Nkunku, and Fofana, Chelsea are expected to generate over 100 million euros to supplement their transfer budget this summer.

Moreover, most of Chelsea's current key players are very young, including Colwill (22 years old), Caicedo (23 years old), Enzo Fernandez (24 years old), Palmer (23 years old), etc. If Chelsea can retain this squad, they can be relatively confident about their core team for at least the next 3-4 years.

After three years of turmoil, one of Europe's strongest teams has finally returned.

Jackson is back.

Apart from center-back Fofana's long-term injury, Chelsea have almost their full strongest squad available for the Conference League final. This is especially true with the return of Nicolas Jackson, who missed the final rounds of the Premier League due to suspension. Key players often plagued by injuries, such as James, are also ready to return.

Nevertheless, Sportsmole predicts that manager Maresca will still use reserve players who have shone in previous Conference League matches, such as Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho, George... After all, the Conference League title now only serves as a highlight of Chelsea's resurgence season.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chelsea-vuc-day-tuong-lai-20250527232943965.htm