After Chelsea were hit with 74 charges over alleged off-the-books payments to agents during the Roman Abramovich era, a previous suspicion from Sir Alex Ferguson has come to light
Sir Alex Ferguson speaking in a press conference
Sir Alex Ferguson's comment from 2012 about Chelsea has come to light again
(Image: YouTube/Football Daily)
If any person was not surprised by the 74 charges recently levelled at Chelsea, it's Sir Alex Ferguson.
The FA recently announced they have hit the west Londoners with 74 charges for breaching regulations regarding agent, intermediary and third-party payments throughout Roman Abramovich's 19-year reign at Stamford Bridge. Ferguson, 83, retired with 13 Premier League titles, but he may have won more had Abramovich and his billions not taken over the Blues.
United were often locked in transfer bidding wars with Chelsea, who seemingly entered every window with a transfer war chest. But while sending transfer fees to clubs was difficult enough, Ferguson once alleged the Blues were pipping the Red Devils to players by paying their agents.
In 2012, after Chelsea beat United to the signing of Eden Hazard, Ferguson said: "There is a borderline in terms of what you would think is a good signing for United. I see some values on players, like Hazard for instance.
"To me it was a lot of money. He's a good player, but £34m? What we’re finding anyway, the climate for buying these top players – not just the transfer fees, the salaries, agents’ fees – is just getting ridiculous now.
"In the Hazard deal, Chelsea paid the agent £6m. The [Samir] Nasri situation was the same. It’s all about what you think is value for a player. I am not envious of those deals at all. We placed a value on Hazard which was well below what they were talking about.”
When he explained his decision to snub United for Chelsea, Hazard did not mention Ferguson's accusation, insisting he choose Stamford Bridge after the Blues won the Champions League in 2012. He said: "I’ve always said I wanted to play in England. There was a struggle between Chelsea and United, but according to me Chelsea has the best project.
“I was in advanced contact with both clubs and I spoke to both coaches. I want to be playing in the Champions League every year. When they won the Champions League, I told myself: 'Why not Chelsea?’ The team is young and I have a better chance to play there."
The Blues' £34m acquisition of Hazard is one of many transfers which have been flagged. Other moves which have been scrutinised include the signing of Samuel Eto'o and Willian in 2013, although it has been stressed there is no evidence the players were aware of any wrongdoing at the time.
According to the Telegraph, the alleged payments brought up by Ferguson were revealed by individuals within the Clearlake-Boehly consortium, who took over the Blues from Abramovich in 2022. They were then self-reported by the current owners to UEFA, the Premier League and the FA, which reportedly prompted the new owners to withhold £100m from the agreed £2.5bn sale in the event they had to pay any financial punishments.
Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich applauds, as players celebrate their league title win at the end of the Premier League football match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge in London on May 21, 2017. - Chelsea's extended victory parade reached a climax with the trophy presentation on May 21, 2017 after being crowned Premier League champions with two games to go
The allegations all date back to Abramovich's reign at the club, which began in 2003 and ended in 2022
Chelsea are believed to be confident they will only receive a fine in the same range as the £8m settlement they paid to UEFA, who also investigated the offences. Their belief is based on the fact they self-reported the infringements and gave investigators access to their files.
A Premier League investigation is also understood to be ongoing into the matter. The FA charges mainly relate to transfers carried out between the 2010-11 campaign and the 2015-16 campaign.
Throughout this period the Blues won the Premier League, the Champions League, the Europa League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.