Chelsea could face Financial Fair Play scrutiny if they fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
When Chelsea paid £106 million for Enzo Fernandez on January 31st, they smashed the record for the most expensive transfer in British history. However, there are drawbacks, since Chelsea may break the Financial Fair Play rules if they don’t qualify for the Champions League.
Telegraph (subscription needed) (h/t The Independent), claimed The Blues will need to finish in the top four to qualify for a Champions League spot in order to avoid any FFP punishments. This could also result in some players being sold to balance the books.
And if they don’t, some Chelsea players might be asked to leave Stamford Bridge. Chelsea spent almost £288 million in January following the acquisition of the Argentine midfielder, which is more than all clubs in La Liga, the Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 combined.
Chelsea have been active in the transfer market ever since selling for £4.25 billion to a team headed by American businessman Todd Boehly. And during his tenure, the club has spent £550 million on transfers.
This has undoubtedly led to some league executives accusing Chelsea of doping, as La Liga was the first to blame them and inquire with UEFA as to how they are allowed to spend so much money.
Chelsea have also frequently participated in European competitions; therefore, this season’s failure to qualify has ramifications that will leave Chelsea with a significant gap to fill. If we don’t qualify or break any FFP regulations, there are various penalties we could face, including points deductions, transfer bans, and the loss of face.
However, we don’t do that because we’ve already made a sufficient number of signings, and Boehly didn’t seem happy with them when he attempted to sign Sofyan Amrabat during the Fernandez deal.
We currently have enough players who can propel us to a Champions League berth, so the players we have should be aware of their ambitions for this season.
And those who are worried about being sold should put on a convincing performance since the next three months will be crucial in determining our standing in the European competition.
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