Premier League chief executive Richard Masters
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters
Is history about to repeat itself?
- just a year after the Blues landed another of top targets, Tosin Adarabioyo.
may have only finished three points ahead of Newcastle last season, but Enzo Maresca's side look to have far greater headroom off the field to meet Brighton's asking price for Pedro while still having more than enough left over to strengthen a host of other positions.
Geordies may understandably ask how that is the case when Newcastle have not made a major signing in nearly two years whereas Chelsea, in contrast, have even breached UEFA's spending limits in that time.
However, the Premier League, unlike UEFA, allow the sale of assets to sister companies to count towards their rules, which has given Chelsea an almighty shot in the arm.
by selling their women's team to BlueCo for £200m, but the Premier League's chief executive was not wrong when he said it was 'permissible'.
There is no rule in the Premier League handbook stopping clubs selling hotels and car parks to a parent company for £76.5m like Chelsea also previously did. In fact, top-flight sides have consistently failed to even vote on preventing such deals.
Chelsea, as a result, have effectively been bailed out of potential PSR danger with the club making a profit of £128m thanks to the sale of the women's team in 2023-24 (subject to a fair market valuation). For context, parent company BlueCo, who own the men and women's teams, made a loss of £430m as intra group transactions cannot be included in the group accounts.
No wonder former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan once suggested it was 'ridiculous' that Chelsea could use their own valuation of their women's team to 'overcome what governance is supposed to be'.
"I don’t look at Chelsea as liberty-takers," he stressed. "I look at the overall ideals behind financial governance of football and say it’s a joke."
Chelsea are clearly reaping the benefits of superior income streams which, in turn, enable the Blues to spend more on transfer fees and salaries. In fact, Chelsea's wage bill (£337.8m), alone, was greater than the revenue Newcastle generated (£320.3m) in 2023-24.
Newcastle had the seventh biggest salary bill in the Premier League that season and Eddie Howe was the first to admit that 'wages and financial terms are a big thing for players' at a time when the Magpies still have a tight structure.
Chelsea, in contrast, have also been able to go big on transfer fees and that will only continue after the Blues qualified for the Champions League and reached the latter stages of the Club World Cup.
For context, since Newcastle signed Lewis Hall from Chelsea on a loan-to-buy deal on August 22, 2023, the Blues have spent upwards of £400m on new arrivals whereas William Osula has been the only other player Newcastle have bought since then.
Going back further, more than £1bn has been splashed out since Chelsea were taken over in 2022. The result? A stockpile of talent with forward Jamie Bittens soon joining Pedro Neto, Liam Delap, Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, Estevao Willian, Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu on the club's books.
That is before mentioning the wages Chelsea are still paying Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja.
That is before mentioning highly promising academy graduate Tyrique George, who could face a real battle to make the bench - let alone get into the starting line-up - when the new season gets under way.
That is before mentioning the possibility of Pedro joining the club.
Welcome to the world of PSR.
Newcastle United Carabao Cup Winners 24/25 - Official club magazine
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