EKO HOT BLOG reports that Premier League CEO Richard Masters has suggested that Chelsea will have to sell players in the upcoming transfer window to balance their books after spending £600m on new signings this season.
Speaking at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit, Masters addressed Chelsea’s transfer policy and the spending of co-owner Todd Boehly, who spent £323m in the January transfer window.
Masters did not defend Chelsea’s transfer policy, stating that the new owners had only owned the club for less than a year and that they have a different transfer policy from the previous regime, focusing on younger players with longer contracts and lower wages.
He added that the Premier League’s rules require clubs to pass a test over a 12-month period, and it remains to be seen whether Chelsea will sell some of their existing players to balance their books.
Chelsea have made several high-profile signings over the past two transfer windows, including Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, and Raheem Sterling. The club is currently sitting in 10th place in the Premier League standings, and their recent form has been inconsistent, with only one win in their last five matches.
Chelsea will have to navigate the Financial Fair Play rules if they want to continue to spend heavily on new players. These rules limit the amount of money that clubs can lose over a three-year period, and if a club is found to have breached the rules, they could face sanctions such as fines or transfer bans.
It remains to be seen which players Chelsea might look to sell in the summer transfer window, but the club will need to balance their spending with their revenue to avoid any potential punishment from the Premier League.
“I am not here to defend them. The new owners have owned the club for less than a year, they’ve had two transfer windows. You need to judge the football club after three or four years.
“They might have bought, they would argue probably they have a different transfer policy to the previous regime – younger players, longer contracts and lower wages.
“Obviously within our rules, it is a test over a 12-month period so the question is whether they are going to sell some of their existing players in the next window.
“I don’t have the answer to that question, I’m certainly not here to defend them but you have to judge these things over a period of time,” Masters said.
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