Keith Wyness stunned by Chelsea valuation that’s ‘half of Newcastle’
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness believes the £160million valuation of the Chelsea women’s team “doesn’t make any sense” following the club’s latest behind-the-scenes transaction.
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 – suggested the west Londoners are trying to do everything they can to avoid breaching the spending rules.
According to finance expert Stefan Borson (11 July), Chelsea sold their women’s team to parent company BlueCo on 28 June to potentially circumnavigate the profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
It comes after the London giants exploited a loophole last year by selling two Stamford Bridge hotels to a sister company for a total of £76.5million to offset their major losses.
Chelsea sold women’s team to bypass PSR rules
Wyness believes the latest transaction “sticks out like a sore thumb” in terms of the value being inflated and he expects the Premier League to take the matter seriously.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “It’s another great Chelsea loophole.
“This is one that all of us supposed experts didn’t see coming. The valuation of the women’s team was incredible.
“I think it was about £160million. How they justify that is on forecasts for potential revenue moving forward.
“That’s a very long stretch to get that valuation because it’s not based on actual numbers at all that they have achieved. But they believe that women’s football is going to grow exponentially and Chelsea will be worth £160million.
“If you look at that transaction, that’s like half of Newcastle basically. If you can say Chelsea’s women’s team is worth half of Newcastle, I’m finding that pretty hard to accept.
“However, if they do sell that to themselves to try and get around PSR, the Premier League have got to look at that seriously because that doesn’t make any sense at all.
“If you are looking at the whole valuation, it doesn’t seem to fit in terms of associated party transactions. Here’s one that sticks out like a sore thumb that isn’t a proper valuation.
“You can’t fault them for trying. They are trying everything, from training grounds to women’s teams. Give them the credit for that.
“Maybe they will get away with one of them, but I think the Premier League have got to be shaking their heads, saying ‘Hang on a sec, come on boys, calm down and let’s play the game properly’.“
In other news, winger could leave Chelsea as talks open over deal.
For more Chelsea news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.