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3 hours ago
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Chelsea made a financial loss of £355m in the 2024-25 season, according to new data released by Uefa, the biggest deficit ever recorded by an English football club.
According to Uefa, Chelsea’s losses were about £186m higher than the second-worst losses in Europe, the £171m figure posted by Lyon. The figures are also about £260m worse than those posted by the Blues in 2023-24.
While Uefa’s report does not fully break down Chelsea’s figures, it does show that while Chelsea have spent money on a level with the top clubs in Europe, costs have not been matched by revenues. Chelsea’s wage bill is estimated to be the sixth-highest in Europe, at £390m a season. Chelsea’s operational expenditure, or day-to-day costs, were the fifth highest in Europe, meanwhile, at £241m. Uefa also calculate that the Blues have the most expensive squad in history, assembled at a combined cost of over £1.5bn.
In terms of matchday revenue, however, Chelsea made a reported £1.2m less per game than Liverpool, with Stamford Bridge only the 10th biggest ground in last season’s Premier League. Commercial revenue fell year-on-year to £207m, about £165m less than the figure reported by Manchester City and at odds with an overall trend for growth in this area. Chelsea did, though, increase their broadcast revenues, from £167m to £193m thanks in large part to their success at the Club World Cup.
Chelsea’s finances have been the subject of debate since the club was taken over by investment vehicle BlueCo in 2021. The men’s team has largely gone without a front of shirt sponsor in the intervening years, while the club have also become known for tying their players to long-term contracts, such as the eight-year deal given to the winger Mykhailo Mudryk, reported to be worth £100,000-a-week in wages. The Ukrainian is serving a provisional suspension for doping.
The ownership have also sold hotels on the club’s grounds to related businesses in order to meet the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, a deal noted by Uefa in their report as being a significant contribution to the relative financial health of the league in 2023.
Also on the list of Europe’s biggest financial losers are the French side Strasbourg. Ranking at No 8 in Uefa’s list, with reported losses of £69m, the Ligue 1 side is also owned by BlueCo and has spent increasingly substantial figures on transfer fees in the past three seasons. Many of those deals have been struck with Chelsea, including nine transfers from London in this season alone.
