- Chelsea’s operating loss for 2022/23 was a staggering £249m
- That was more than any other club, as was the value of its squad and depreciation.
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Chelsea’s financial calamity was laid bare after it was revealed they recorded the most serious operating loss of any Premier League club in 2022/23.
Its operating loss was a staggering £249m, almost £100m more than nearest rival Leicester, which posted a £152m deficit.
They also had the most expensive squad, valued at £1.117m, and the second highest wage bill in the top flight, £404m.
Chelsea spent the most on amortization (transfer expenses spread over the course of a player’s contract) at a whopping £205 million.
While they spent £745m on player purchases, they only recovered £203m on player sales.
It was revealed that Chelsea had the biggest operating loss in the Premier League last season
They spent £745 buying players, including a British record £107m on Enzo Fernandez.
That included a then-British record £107m transfer for Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January 2023.
Months later, they broke that record by buying Moisés Caicedo from Brighton for £115 million, which will be included in the 2023/24 accounts when they are published.
Its debt for the year was £428m.
All this elaborate spending, outperforming their rivals in almost every financial department, led to Chelsea finishing 12th in the Premier League.
This is the first time Clearlake Capital has published accounts during his reign at Stamford Bridge.
It was also revealed how Chelsea sold a hotel to BlueCo, the Todd Boehly and Clearlake-led consortium that bought the club in May 2022, for £76.3 million.
That helped reduce the club’s losses and stay within the Premier League’s sustainability and profit rules.
This new wave of information comes amid fears over the club’s lavish spending in the 2023/24 campaign.
Chelsea’s squad had a price of 1,117 million pounds and its wage bill was 404 million pounds, only surpassed by Manchester City.
Chelsea spent a staggering £75.1m on agent fees alone between February 1, 2023 and February 1, 2024, the Football Association revealed on Friday.
This was due in part to exorbitant summer spending, with Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer and more join multi-million dollar deals.
The club’s spending on new signings under Boehly has already exceeded £1 billion in less than two years.
More to follow.