Chelsea backed to match Man United as Todd Boehly signs off deal – Kieran Maguire
Chelsea are falling behind their ‘Big Six’ rivals in matchday income but can close the gap now they have completed an £80million deal for nearby land.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that it is “critical” for the Blues to have a bigger stadium to avoid falling behind their rivals.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Chelsea have completed an £80million deal to purchase land adjacent to Stamford Bridge.
With the deal now completed and signed off by the club, it allows the Londoners to start planning to either expand Stamford Bridge or build an entirely new stadium.
Chelsea’s 2022-23 accounts revealed that they earned £76.5million in matchday income last season.
Chelsea must upgrade stadium after £80m deal completed
That figure trails £60million behind Manchester United’s league-leading £136million matchday income from the 2022-23 season.
Maguire believes Chelsea must look to expand their stadium in anticipation of new financial rules in the Premier League.
“Chelsea’s acquisition of land next to Stamford Bridge has certainly given the club greater flexibility in terms of its options of what to do next,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“The elephant in the room is that Chelsea have a stadium capacity substantially less than that of the other sneaky six clubs.
“With new squad control rules being introduced which are linked to revenue, they are at a disadvantage.
“They are unable to match the level of Manchester United’s £136m matchday income and Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool are all hitting the £100million mark.
“Having a bigger stadium is now critical for Chelsea to address this imbalance.“
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