Finance guru issues ‘huge’ claim on Chelsea potentially breaching FFP as latest deal agreed
Chelsea have tied down new signing Mykhaylo Mudryk to a long-term contract to avoid facing financial fair play penalties.
That is the view of finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the new £88.5million signing at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea pipped London rivals Arsenal to sign highly-rated Ukranian winger Mudryk this month, with the 22-year-old joining the club on an eight-and-a-half-year contract.
Mudryk isn’t the only Chelsea signing under Todd Boehly to agree to a long-term deal, with Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei and David Datro Fofana all committing to six years, while Wesley Fofana agreed to a seven-year deal.
Chelsea’s total spending under Boehly has now reached over £400million, leading many to question how the Blues have avoided punishment regarding financial fair play.
Plumley believes Chelsea are taking a big risk by structuring their payments over multiple years.
“There are two sides to this Chelsea transfer strategy,” Plumley told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“They are signing long-term deals to help with the financial fair play system as you can amortise the cost over the length of the contract, so they’ll be okay regarding the FFP perspective.
“On the other half of the coin, Chelsea are taking a gamble and will still have to pay the cost of those wages over the length of the contract.
“That’s okay if the players are performing and doing well in the team but if it doesn’t go to plan and they can’t offload them later down the line then it’s a risk.
“It’s a huge deal and if Mudryk turns into the player most believe he can be then it could turn out to be a steal.
“But let’s make no mistake about the length of this contract – it’s designed to help Chelsea avoid FFP.“
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