Stefan Borson taken aback by Chelsea points deduction twist
Chelsea have avoided a potential profit and sustainability (PSR) breach after their hotel sales have been approved by the Premier League.
That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider there are questions around why the situation dragged on for the best past of the past 15 months.
Chelsea’s latest published accounts revealed they sold two Stamford Bridge hotels to a sister company last year for a total of £76.5million.
That meant their losses fell from potentially as high as £166.4million to £89.9million for the 2022-23 financial year alone.
ESPN reported on 4 September the Premier League has now ratified the hotel sales after it conducted a “fair market valuation” under the associated party transaction (APT) rules.
Chelsea have received good news despite hotel decision delay
But Borson suggested it was always unlikely the sales would be refused despite it taking so long to receive the necessary approval.
“It’s a very odd situation,” Borson told Football Insider.
“I have no idea why it could possibly have taken 15 months.
“It’s definitely good news for Chelsea because I think it’s clear had it not been approved, they would have failed PSR for 2022-23.
“It’s definitely good news for them, it’s just a very odd situation.
“Why did it take so long? What was being deliberated? Why couldn’t they clear it in line with the timetable that was set out in the Premier League rules?
“But we have no information, so it’s impossible really to assess how close or not it was on a fair market value basis.
“I think it was always unlikely that it would be refused.
“That would have put them in a very difficult situation to be failing 2022-23 PSR, especially at this stage.
“It would have had knock-on effects for each of the next two years.”
In other news, fans stunned by “corrupt” Premier League after Chelsea news.
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