Finance guru salutes £164m news as Chelsea close in on Real Madrid
Chelsea can offset their relatively small matchday income through player sales from their stellar academy.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the importance of the player trading revenue stream in the post-Roman Abramovich era.
Analysis published by The Athletic on Thursday (21 July) found that Chelsea have earned £163.5million from selling off homegrown talent since the 2017-18 season.
This figure is second only to Spanish giants and 2021-22 European champions Real Madrid.
The likes of Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori have left for big fees in recent seasons.
Mason Mount, Reece James, Calum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek meanwhile have all made significant impacts on the first team after graduating from the academy at Cobham.
It is also expected that Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja and Levi Colwill will all either be part of Thomas Tuchel’s plans for 2022-23 or depart for substantial sums.
Maguire explains why player sales are even more important in the Todd Boehly era, when losses will not necessarily be covered by the owner.
“For Chelsea, this is necessary in the post-Abramovich era,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“The club is hampered by the size, or lack of it, of Stanford Bridge. They can offset the lack of matchday income through player sales.
“They also get players coming through the academy to the first team that represents an opportunity cost.
“That means they don’t have to go out and spend on new players because they are already there.”
In other news, Chelsea told to green light Kepa Arrizabalaga move as big-money windfall mooted by pundit.