The club have also been banned from signing academy players for nine months but have escaped a points deduction or other immediate first-team sporting sanctions.
After a four-year investigation by the Premier League, Chelsea were found to have:
■ Paid £23m to seven unregistered agents for the signings of seven players, including Eden Hazard, David Luiz and Ramires
■ Made a £19.3m payment to two entities in connection with the transfers of Willian and Samuel Eto’o
■ Self-reported the financial irregularities, following the purchase of the club from Abramovich in 2022 by the current owners
■ Included a £100m reduction in sale fee due to Abramovich to account for possible fines
The illicit payments were uncovered during the due diligence process when the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly consortium bought the club from Abramovich. They were self-reported by the current owners to Uefa, the FA and the Premier League. It was revealed in June 2022 that £100m was set aside from the agreed £2.5bn sale price to cover any financial penalties that may occur as a result.
These payments were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties by offshore entities linked to Abramovich, which was reported by the club following the May 2022 takeover.
The payments helped Chelsea secure the signatures of some of the best players of the era ahead of their Premier League and European rivals.
The punishments, announced yesterday, form part of two sanction agreements between the league and Chelsea over various offences dating between 2011 and 2022.
Eden Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille
Eden Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille
The club are also facing further action from the Football Association, having been charged with 74 alleged breaches of its rules related to payments to agents between 2009 and 2022.
They were previously fined €10m (£8.64m) by Uefa in July 2023 for incomplete financial reporting by their previous owners in 2018 and 2019.
The secret payments for which Chelsea were sanctioned involve the signings of Hazard, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle, Nemanja Matic and Eto’o, as well as other unnamed footballers.
Those signings in turn helped the club become the most successful side of the early-to-mid 2010s, between them winning two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, the League Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League.
There is no suggestion the players named on Monday were aware of any misconduct.
The fine announced by the Premier League is its largest ever, but the lack of sporting sanction raises questions over whether it is a sufficient deterrent for such conduct.
It has the potential to result in a similar outcome in the ongoing case involving the approximate 130 charges against Manchester City. There remains no expected timeframe on any verdict regarding the City charges, more than three years after they were announced and 15 months since the near three-month hearing concluded.