Keith Wyness drops Chelsea bombshell – ‘I’ve never seen anything like it before’
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed Chelsea’s bid for European qualification “could go terribly wrong”.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed the Blues could breach European financial rules after their lavish recent transfer spending.
Finance guru Kieran Maguire told Football Insider on Wednesday (15 May) that Chelsea may struggle to comply with Uefa’s allowable loss limit if they qualify for European football next season.
European financial regulations cap clubs to spending 80 percent of their revenue on wages and transfer fees next season, and also only allow clubs to lose a maximum of £51million over three seasons.
It is also uncertain whether their £77million intra-company sale of two club hotels will qualify as an allowable income stream in Uefa’s eyes.
Chelsea could see European bid scuppered by Uefa rules, says Wyness
Chelsea are currently still in the fight for Europa League or Europa Conference League qualification as the end of the season on 19 May approaches.
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “Uefa are very clear in their regulations that you can’t use the proceeds from any sale of club assets, including stadiums and training grounds, to the club’s earnings if they are not of fair market value.
“It’s yet to be seen whether they are to breach the Premier League or Uefa rules.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before, so we need more detail.
“But certainly, the potential is there for them to be in breach of the European rules.
“I think Chelsea would definitely like to be in Europe next season to show progress, and also to attract the types of sponsors they are trying to attract.
“It’s an interesting one. It could go terribly wrong for them.”
In other news, Chelsea to accept £35million 31-year-old offer.
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