‘Chelsea set for big punishment after face-to-face talks’
Chelsea face a big financial penalty at the hands of Uefa following the controversial sale of their women’s side to a sister company.
Uefa have rejected Chelsea’s £200million sale of the women’s team, which helped them post a profit for the 2023-24 campaign.
The Blues are now reportedly in talks over a settlement for an overspend – with proceeds from that deal, and a transaction which saw club hotels transferred, excluded from the balance sheet.
Uefa do not allow clubs to declare income from selling assets to sister companies – and those rules apply to Chelsea as they are participating in this year’s Conference League.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – has had his say on what a potential fine could look like.
Chelsea could pay back percentage of European earnings, says Wyness
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness claimed Uefa could force Chelsea to pay a percentage of their revenue from participating in Europe.
That penalty could become particularly stinging if they qualify for the money-spinning Champions League – as Enzo Maresca‘s side currently sit fourth in the Premier League with seven games remaining.
| Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
| 2 | Arsenal | 31 | 62 | 30 |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 31 | 57 | 14 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 31 | 53 | 17 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 30 | 53 | 13 |
| 6 | Man City | 31 | 52 | 17 |
Wyness has urged the Premier League to adopt a similar stance to Uefa and close the loophole exploited by Chelsea.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Chelsea are in talks with Uefa and I’d love to be a fly on the wall to see how those talks are going.
“Uefa have quite rightly said no, we’re not going to allow this.
“They’re not going to allow the hotel transaction Chelsea did either.
“I’ve been trying to assess what the fine could be, and I’m guessing it could come down to a percentage of European revenue gained from the competitions they enter.
“That could be one way, or it could be a straight fine.
“The Premier League have got to adopt the Uefa stance. We all know that until this loophole is closed, selling the women’s team at £200million is just laughable in terms of valuation.
“It’ll come to a number, and they’ll pay the number to save face.”
Tottenham plan Chelsea raid
Meanwhile, Football Insider revealed on Sunday (6 April) that Tottenham are plotting a surprise move to re-sign Chelsea star Noni Madueke this summer.
Enzo Maresca has doubts about where the winger fits into his system and is prepared to sanction his exit at the end of the season.
Madueke left Tottenham’s academy setup in 2018 in favour of a move to Dutch outfit PSV as he sought improved opportunities to play first-team football.
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