Chelsea have been fined £10.75m by the Premier League and handed a suspended ban from signing first-team players, along with an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban, for historical breaches of financial rules during Roman Abramovich’s ownership.
The breaches relate to undisclosed payments made to agents, unregistered intermediaries and players between 2011 and 2018, involving signings such as Samuel Eto’o, Eden Hazard and Willian. The suspended first-team transfer ban will last for two years and will be triggered only if further breaches occur.
The Premier League cited “exceptional cooperation” from Chelsea and noted “significant mitigating factors”, including that the offences were self-reported by the new ownership, BlueCo, which took over from Abramovich in May 2022. The club avoided a points deduction or other sporting sanction.
The fines stem from an investigation that uncovered tens of millions of pounds in secret payments via offshore companies linked to Abramovich, as revealed by the Cyprus Confidential investigation involving the Guardian and international media partners. The Football Association is also investigating Chelsea over 74 charges related to agent regulations and third-party ownership, which is expected to result in further fines and a suspended ban.
The academy ban applies to youth players previously registered with other Premier League or English Football League clubs, but not current players or those registering for the first time. The academy charges relate to breaches of youth development rules between 2019 and 2022.
Chelsea welcomed the settlement and has set aside funds via a £150m “holdback” clause in the takeover deal to cover potential financial penalties. The club stated it had provided full cooperation to all relevant regulators throughout the process.
