Chelsea were given a £10.75 million fine, a one-year transfer ban and a two-year suspension.
A Premier League sanctions agreement reveals that Chelsea made secret payments totaling £47.5 million to agents and other individuals between 2011 and 2018, when Roman Abramovich was owner.
Chelsea have also been handed a nine-month academy transfer ban with immediate effect in relation to the club’s registration of youth players from 2019 to 2022.
According to the sanctions agreement, an investigation determined that these payments were made “with the knowledge and approval” of former senior employees and/or directors.
The deal was revealed during the due diligence process for a new American owner’s acquisition of the club in 2022. They self-reported the misconduct to the Premier League, FA and UEFA.
The Premier League said Chelsea’s “positive self-reporting” and “unusual cooperation” during the investigation acted as important mitigating factors when considering potential sanctions.
Chelsea “fully accepted the terms of the settlement” and welcomed the Premier League’s admission to co-operate with the investigation.
Chelsea were fined £8.64 million (10 million euros) by UEFA in July 2023 for incomplete financial reporting by their previous owners in 2018 and 2019.
At least six suspicious payments to offshore companies related to remittances were identified.
The seven-figure payment was not included in the club’s accounts with football authorities at the time.
Transfers investigated are believed to include the transfers of Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o and Andreas Christiansen.
Clubs must provide accurate financial information to the FA and Premier League each year. The same applies to UEFA and the clubs participating in its competitions.
UEFA’s five-year statute of limitations means it can only investigate violations going back to 2017/18. There is no statute of limitations in the Premier League.
Why was Chelsea’s transfer ban suspended?
Sky Sports News Chief Correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:
“This all relates to payments made off-the-books to those involved in the transfer under Chelsea’s previous ownership.
“The accounts the club submitted to the football authorities at the time did not include the seven-figure payment.
“All clubs must provide accurate financial information to the FA and the Premier League each year, and if they participate in competitions, to UEFA.
“If Chelsea’s previous owners had made these secret payments from their books, it would mean that the financial information they were providing was not complete.
“Chelsea will be able to sign players in the summer and next winter, as long as they don’t do anything wrong.
“We believe the reason this ban was suspended is because these misconducts were self-reported by the club’s new owners.”
