‘Something hit me smack in the face’ – Insider stunned by Chelsea development
Chelsea have raised eyebrows after valuing one of their assets at around £200million.
Since Todd Boehly bought the West London club off Roman Abramovich in 2022, he has spent well over £2billion on new players.
The American billionaire has continued his free spending this summer, as the Blues added the likes of Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, and Jamie Gittens to their squad.
Two years ago, Chelsea skirted around Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), by selling their women’s team to themselves for £200m.
However, 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 – believes that recent events have brought that valuation into question.
‘Chelsea’s valuation is very hard to accept’
This article contains exclusive comment from Keith Wyness, former Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen CEO.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the £200m valuation is far too high, especially considering it has come out recently that the Sheffield Wednesday owner wants to sell his club for £100m.
The Sheffield side are in an awful situation currently, with owner Dejphon Chansiri failing to pay players and staff.
Wyness added that he still thinks £100m for Wednesday is too high, which makes the valuation of Chelsea women ludicrous.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Chelsea had their women’s side valued at £200m, and I had to shake my head, and I have been doing it all the time about that.
“Sheffield Wednesday are up for sale, and the owner wants a ridiculous amount of £100m. Yet we’re talking about women’s teams that are valued at more than that, double that for Chelsea’s point of view. I still find that very hard to accept.
“Now, we’re all in euphoria about the women’s team right now, the Lionesses, et cetera. The whole country’s falling in love with women’s football again. Fantastic. Well done.
“I was looking at it and something hit me smack in the face, and I hate to be sort of the one who pours cold water on this. When it came to it, the men’s profit on the Euros was £1.26bn. The women’s Euros actually lost money at £35m. So, you know, there’s still a long way to go in terms of getting some sort of parity.
“There are cases that Chelsea can make, and they’ve got minority investment at the valuation they’ve agreed. Okay, I accept that, but still, there is this mirage.
“This is supposed to be the best-attended Euros that we’ve seen, which it was, a great spectacle, but still, is the commercial backing there to support these valuations?”
Chelsea learn price tag of major target
Meanwhile, Aston Villa are set to demand in excess of £80m to entertain offers for Morgan Rogers amid growing interest from Chelsea, sources have told Football Insider.
Rogers is seen as the “dream signing” for Chelsea, who have been keeping a close eye on his progress at Villa Park after a successful season under Unai Emery.
Football Insider exclusively revealed on 28 July that Chelsea have proposed a player exchange for Rogers including cash plus Tosin Adarabioyo and Nicolas Jackson.
However, Villa are extremely reluctant to lose the England international this summer and have no plans to weaken Emery’s squad in the closing stages of the window.
For more Chelsea and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.