Reports suggest that Chelsea may face a points deduction as leaked files have exposed a series of payments that potentially violated football regulations. The investigation spans over a decade during Roman Abramovich’s ownership of the club, with payments routed through Abramovich’s offshore vehicles. These transactions, amounting to tens of millions of pounds, seem to have been made to benefit Chelsea or individuals associated with the club, including an associate of manager Antonio Conte, Eden Hazard’s agent, and other Chelsea officials.
The payments are also linked to the signings of players Willian and Samuel Eto’o, raising questions about potential breaches of financial fair play rules. Both the Premier League and the Football Association are already scrutinizing Chelsea’s finances, and UEFA fined the club £8.6 million for incomplete financial information submitted during Abramovich’s ownership.
The leaked documents reveal incidents such as Abramovich’s company, Conibair Holdings, agreeing to pay £10 million to an Italian football agent, Federico Pastorello, on the same day Chelsea confirmed Antonio Conte as head coach. Another incident involves Eden Hazard’s 2012 move to Chelsea, with documents suggesting Abramovich’s company paid £6 million for advisory services related to sport research and consultancy.
Sports lawyers suggest that these payments may have violated Premier League and UEFA regulations on financial fair play. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire suggests that proof of the club using third-party transactions to circumvent rules could lead to sanctions, possibly financial penalties or a points deduction. The ongoing investigation into Chelsea’s transfer dealings during Abramovich’s era also includes secret payments made for the signings of Willian and Samuel Eto’o in 2013.
Chelsea, under its current ownership led by Todd Boehly, has reportedly flagged these transfers during the process of purchasing the club from Abramovich. The financial records indicate additional payments to “Russian entities,” but there is no suggestion that the players were aware of these dealings. In response to the claims, Chelsea released a statement clarifying that the payments in question are not related to any current individuals at the club.