Updated / Tuesday, 1 Apr 2025 08:20
The sale of Chelsea's women’s team to the club’s parent company helped the men’s club post a net profit of almost £130million (€155m) in their latest accounts published.
A statement on the Blues’ website on Monday did not specify for how much the women’s team was sold to Blueco, the holding company used in Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s takeover three years ago, but said "profit on disposal of subsidiaries" was £198.7m.
Along with player sales of £152.5m, that helped the club record a net profit of £129.6m, compared with a loss of £90.1m in the previous year.
A Companies House filing on July 11 last year stated that as of 28 June – two days before the end of the accounting period – Blueco Midco was now "a person with significant control" of Chelsea Football Club Women Ltd, with a separate filing on the same date marking the cessation of Chelsea FC Holdings – the company linked to the men’s team – having significant control on 28 June.
The Premier League was understood at the time who have begun an assessment of the sale under its associated party transaction (APT) rules to determine if it was for fair market value.
Sources close to the club described the transfer of ownership last summer as a "repositioning" of the women’s team that would enable that investment to take place.
On Monday, the club said the repositioning "will ensure CFCW has dedicated resources, management and commercial leadership solely focused on the growth and success of the women’s team".
The sale of club-owned assets to a related company is allowed under Premier League rules, but must be for fair market value.
A move to bring in an outright ban on such sales was narrowly voted down at the league’s annual general meeting last June.
The club announced on Monday that revenue fell to £468.5m for the year ending June 30, 2024, due to their absence from the men’s Champions League.
Chelsea have spent over £1billion on transfers since the Boehly and Clearlake takeover in May 2022.