‘UEFA have taken a very firm stance’ – Chelsea warned about completing Santos takeover
Chelsea’s owners are not likely to net any financial gain if they decide to add to their multi-club ownership model.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley after it emerged that Chelsea could take over Brazilian club Santos.
Chelsea may have to spend £200million at Santos to improve the facilities at the club and their results on the pitch.
Blues owner Todd Boehly currently also owns French club Strasbourg, whose deals with Chelsea have been investigated by UEFA.
Santos an ‘attractive proposition’ for Chelsea
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley believes taking over Santos would be a long-term investment for Chelsea.
“I think you will been looking at more kind of longer term strategic, financial impact, and a lot of it is intangible as well and often linked to players and recruitment type exercises as we’ve seen,” Plumley said.
“UEFA have, you know, taken a very firm stance on this. It’s not just a way now to inflate revenues and, you know, move money around clubs. That’s not what it’s about. So I think the benefits here are more kind of on the pitch. And then, lastly, you might be looking for some commercial tie-ins.
“You might be looking for some partnership development. We know how huge football is in Brazil. But there’s all that kind of added value stuff, which is a particularly attractive proposition.
“But as I say, a lot of that is more kind of intangible in the first instance, and you’re looking at building those relationships and partnerships.
“A lot of it runs through your player recruitment models, as we’ve seen with Strasbourg with them, and Chelsea as an example.
“And you’re looking for the wider benefits further down the line rather than any kind of direct financial gain in the short term. It’s an alignment of vision and strategy group, and we’ve seen lots of clubs looking to do multi-club ownership appeal continue to be a trend. It’s certainly a long-term play.“
Chelsea fans face ticket hike
As Chelsea look for ways to increase their revenue and success on the pitch, supporters could face increased ticket prices at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are behind in their stadium plans, and are currently making no progress on finding a site to build a new stadium.
Many of Chelsea’s rivals have already, or are, taking steps to increase their matchday revenue, meaning the club face falling behind financially.