Chelsea Finance 2014 Report
Chelsea Football Club are set to announce a record turnover of £320 million, along with a profit of £20 million, for the year ended 2014. In a year where there has been some almighty praise for the shrewdness with which the club have done their transfer business, Chelsea’s balance sheet will reflect the great work done by the management.
This is only the second time that Chelsea have posted a profit since Roman Abramovich took over the club in 2003. In 2012, the club made a profit of £1.4 million, but posted a loss of £49.4 million in the subsequent accounting year. But now, with the Financial Fair Play Rules of UEFA becoming stricter by the season, the club have felt the need to balance the books along well as gunning for success.
In the first 10 years of the Abramovic era, Chelsea posted an aggregate loss of over £600 million, and had the FFP rules been under enforcement then, they would been under a serious threat of non-compliance. But now, in the last 5 seasons, under technical director Michael Emenalo, Chairman Bruce Buck and recently retired Chief Executive Ron Gourlay, the club have pulled things back.
The figures for 2014 though, do not include the transfer fees paid for Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Filipe Luis. The trio costed the club well over £70 million, but as they were bought after the year ended June 2014, the amounts will be included in the next financial year.
Revenues in the last year include close to £90 million in transfer fees from the sales of Juan Mata and David Luiz, and £94.1 million from the Premier League after finishing 3rd last year. A solution is being explored for the expansion of Stamford Bridge, which can currently seat only 42,000 people. This is considered low for a top club, but expansion to a 55,000-seater stadium will cost around £300 million. Therefore, it is set to be put on hold for the moment.
This news comes amidst a fantastic period for Chelsea on the pitch. Unbeaten in all competitions so far, Mourinho’s men sit pretty at the top of the Premier League table and look good to land their first league title since 2010.
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