The Premier League is officially allowing Chelsea to use profits from selling two hotels to combat a potential breach of profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Chelsea recently offloaded the hotels and parking garages near Stamford Bridge for around $100 million. The buyers in the deal, however, are the same people in charge of the Premier League club.
Chelsea FC Holdings Limited was the previous owner of the two properties. The company officially operates and manages the West London team and its training facilities. The new owner of the hotels is BlueCo 22 Properties Limited. American billionaire Todd Boehly co-owns both this corporation and Chelsea. As a result, the properties essentially changed companies but remained under the same umbrella.
The deal’s approval allows the Blues to exploit a loophole in the PSR law. Premier League officials previously proposed an official vote on the issue during a meeting earlier in the summer. English top-flight teams, however, failed to block the loophole. For a rule change, two-thirds of the division’s teams had to vote on changing the law. Nevertheless, only 11 of the league’s 20 teams voted to pass the measure.
By selling the hotels to themselves, Chelsea can put the $100 million directly towards their losses for the 2022/23 financial year. Without the generated funds, the Blues were reportedly looking at losses of $219 million during this timeframe. This figure would have been a massive mountain to climb in the club’s fight against breaching PSR.
Current Premier League rules state that teams cannot exceed $137 million in losses over three years. Chelsea previously posted losses of $148 million for the 2021/22 financial year alone. The Blues may still have issues even with the sale of the two properties. However, the club is confident that they will comply with the division’s financial rules.
With Boehly at the helm, Chelsea has spent $1.4 billion on a plethora of new players since 2022. The club has attempted to offset this huge sum by selling several stars as well.
The Blues sanctioned sales of homegrown players such as Conor Gallagher, Ian Maatsen, and Lewis Hall this summer. Selling stars in this category represents pure profit towards PSR laws because they rose through the team’s youth ranks.
Despite the massive overhaul of the roster, Chelsea is still struggling on the pitch. The Blues previously finished 12th and sixth in the Premier League standings in Boehly’s first two years at the helm. So far this season, new head coach Enzo Maresca has experienced a mixed bag of results in the division. Chelsea currently has just one win, a 6-2 victory over Wolves, in their three top-flight fixtures.
With so many moving parts, the Blues seemingly need a lengthy period of stability looking ahead. Chelsea ownership has to stop throwing endless money to add to the squad and allow coaches to improve the players.
Defender Marc Cucurella hinted at this notion on Thursday. The Spanish star claimed that it is difficult to deal with so many arrivals and departures within the roster. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Boehly can resist overspending in future transfer windows.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
