Chelsea's trick was 'whistled'

The Premier League has not approved Chelsea's move to sell its women's team. Photo: Reuters .

Chelsea revealed in its financial report published earlier this week that it had raised £198 million from the “restructuring of the women’s team”, which was recorded as part of the transfer of a subsidiary to the club’s parent company.

Although no exact valuation details have been released, experts believe the value of Chelsea Women's could exceed £150 million. Another asset believed to be involved in the deal is Chelsea Women's Kingsmeadow Stadium.

The internal transfer was a key factor in helping Chelsea turn around their financial situation, from a loss of £90 million last season to a pre-tax profit of up to £128 million. Previously, Chelsea also sold two hotels located on the Stamford Bridge grounds to the parent company, all owned by billionaires Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.

However, the Blues have yet to receive Premier League approval on how the deal will be valued. Negotiations are ongoing over the key question of whether the women's team deal is valued at fair market value.

By comparison, Europe's most successful women's team Lyon Feminin was sold to an American consortium for just £45 million in 2023. Meanwhile, the American women's team Angel City was valued at £190 million in an auction in September of the same year.

Chelsea women's team is considered the strongest in England.

Chelsea will likely argue that their women's team's valuation of hundreds of millions of pounds is justified given their reputation and consistent performance, but it is possible the Premier League could demand a downward adjustment in the value of the deal.

Chelsea's total revenue reportedly fell to £468.5m due to the men's team not being in the Champions League. However, TV revenue increased thanks to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals and League Cup final last season. Operating costs were also cut to offset the revenue decline, helping the club maintain a stable operating loss compared to the previous year.

On the women's side, they continued their great success, reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second time in a row and winning the Women's Super League, which contributed significantly to TV revenue. Matchday revenue increased to £80.1 million thanks to an average attendance of around 40,000 per game.

In addition, "The Blues" commercial revenue increased to 225.3 million pounds thanks to player loans and sideline businesses such as stadium tours and souvenir sales.

Thanks to profits from player sales (£152.5 million) and subsidiary transfers (£198.7 million), Chelsea recorded a post-tax profit of £129.6 million - a surprising financial result that will certainly be "closely scrutinized" in the coming time.

The clubs that made the most money from player sales Chelsea led the way in terms of player sales revenue over the past 10 seasons with 1.3 billion euros. Benfica and Monaco followed thanks to big deals like Félix and Mbappé.

Source: https://znews.vn/chieu-tro-cua-chelsea-bi-tuyt-coi-post1542865.html