Chelsea have been fined £10.75 million and handed a suspended two-year ban on signing first-team players, along with an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban, by the Premier League for breaching financial rules during Roman Abramovich’s ownership. The sanctions relate to undisclosed payments made between 2011 and 2018 to agents, non-licensed intermediaries and players, including around the signings of Samuel Eto’o, Eden Hazard and Willian.
The Premier League’s investigation found that third-party payments associated with the club were not disclosed to football regulatory authorities at the time. The league described the offences as a breach of the requirement to act in good faith. Chelsea accepted that the payments should have been treated as having been made by the club.
The club self-reported the historical rule-breaking to the Premier League and the Football Association after the takeover by the BlueCo consortium in May 2022. The league cited “exceptional cooperation” from Chelsea and noted “significant mitigating factors” in reaching the settlement, which is the largest fine ever imposed by the Premier League.
The suspended first-team transfer ban will be triggered if further breaches occur within two years. The academy ban applies to youth players previously registered with another Premier League or English Football League club, though it does not affect current players or first registrations. Chelsea also face potential sanctions from the FA over 74 charges of breaching agent regulations, with a source indicating a similar fine and suspended ban may follow.
The payments were uncovered as part of the Cyprus Confidential investigation, a leak of data from Cypriot financial services firms used by Abramovich. The Clearlake consortium that bought Chelsea inserted a “holdback” clause in the takeover deal, allowing them to withhold up to £150 million from the purchase price to cover any penalties from pre-acquisition events.
Chelsea said in a statement: “From the outset of this process, the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators. The club welcomes…”
