Chelsea could potentially be subjected to a more severe points deduction than Everton in the upcoming season, according to football finance expert Stefan Borson.
Following Nottingham Forest's deduction of four points for their own breaches of financial fair play (FFP) regulations on Monday, the Premier League has demonstrated a willingness to penalise clubs for rule violations.
Everton was the first club to suffer a points deduction, with the Premier League deducting 10 points from the Merseyside team in November due to breaches of profit and sustainability rules (PSR). This sanction was later reduced to six points in February, following an appeal by Everton. Forest's points deduction also stemmed from breaches of PSR.
Since the arrival of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in May 2022, Chelsea has spent over £1 billion and appears to have encountered FFP issues of their own. However, the club maintains that they have operated within the regulations.
To comply with PSR, teams must not lose more than £105million over three years. This, Borson told talkSPORT, could mean Chelsea’s undoing: “There was an assumption with Mason Mount, because he was announced on Manchester United’s website on July 1 that [his sale] had been put into the current season.
"So the £55m of profit was in this season. It now transpires that Mason Mount appears to have been transacted in 2022/23 and that is how they got through [FFP rules].”
This means they have to make back that £55m this season. “Because we also know from the BlueCo accounts that they are currently, from the post-balance sheet events, something like £48m in profit for this year,” he continued
“Really, they have to find buyers for Trevoh Chalobah for £20m, Armando Broja for £40m, and Conor Gallagher for £50m. It’s those sort of deals that need to be done. And by the way, they all need to be done by June 30th. That, as we know, is articulated within the Forest decision. And there’s a whole conversation about how hard it is to sell players in the period before June. The Premier League actually suggested that more or less it was impossible.”
