Football fans and the English media are up in arms after the Premier League handed Chelsea a record fine and a suspended transfer ban for hidden payments between 2011 and 2018.
The Blues were found to have 36 separate payments, worth £47.5 million (A$89.5m) to 12 unregistered agents or corporate entities over transfers.
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As a result, they have been fined £10.75m (A$20.26m), given a suspended one-year transfer ban and a nine-month ban on signing academy players.
It is the biggest ever fine dished out by the Premier League, but, according to The Telegraph’s chief football correspondent Jason Burt, it is “a gentle wrap on the knuckles”.
While, an insider told The Independent’s chief football writer Miguel Delany: “They blatantly cheated and still have the trophies to show for it.”
Delaney added: “The largest ever fine, which amounts to no more than an academy graduate sale, sounds rather small-scale next to that.”
During the eight-year period in which they were charged for, Chelsea won six trophies.
In Jose Mourinho’s second coming at Stanford Bridge and then under Antonio Conte, they won the Premier League twice.
Chelsea also won the FA Cup in 2011/12 and 2017/18 as well as the League Cup in 2014/15 and the Europa League in 2018/19.
Now, it is widely viewed that even though those trophies remain in Chelsea’s cabinet, they are tainted.
“They should also, unfortunately, be left with some asterisks next to those trophies,” Burt wrote.
“They are, sadly, tainted, including Mourinho’s league title in 2014-15 and Antonio Conte’s in 2016-17, the last time Chelsea won it.”
A 28-page document published by the Premier League highlighted all of Chelsea’s “obvious and deliberate breaches” as well as the club’s “deception and concealment”.
The findings of the investigation revealed a calculated system of financial breaches under former owner Roman Abramovich – a Russian oligarch who sold Chelsea in 2022 as his assets were frozen by the UK government due to his “close ties with the Kremlin” when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Abramovich led a system where payments were made via third-parties in the British Virgin Islands to complete player signings without the payments appearing on the club’s accounts.
The players themselves are not accused of being involved in the transactions, but several club legends’ transfers included such payments.
£23m was paid to seven unregistered agents for the signings of Eden Hazard (Lille), Ramires (Benfica), David Luiz (Benfica), Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen) and Nemanja Matic (Benfica).
While the combined £19.3m transfer fees for Samuel Eto’o and Willian from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala were also paid off the club records.
The information paints those transfers in a new light with the possibility that rivals lost out on a transfer target because of the hidden payments.
Manchester City had been the favourite to sign Hazard in 2012, while Manchester United and Tottenham were also in the hunt for the Belgian.
The following year Spurs chased Willian.
Eto’o, who lasted just one season in west London, is the only player from that bunch not to have earned a winner’s medal with Chelsea.
Hazard went on to become the club’s greatest ever player, according Mourinho and legendary defender John Terry.
The winger scored 110 goals in 352 games for Chelsea before departing for Real Madrid.
Willian made 339 appearances for the club, while David Luiz kitted up 248 times and Ramires played 251 games for the Blues.
The club undoubtedly benefited enormously from signing those players.
“Under Mourinho, Chelsea finished eight points ahead of City – and of course they have their own far bigger case to be settled for what did/did not happen during that time – and who was the PFA’s player of the year? Hazard. He scored 14 league goals and claimed nine assists,” Burt wrote.
“Under Conte, Chelsea finished seven points clear of Tottenham Hotspur with (David) Luiz – at the heart of a three-man defence – Nemanja Matic and Hazard all key players. This is all relevant stuff here, people.”
But the Premier League did not come down on Chelsea harder because its new owners self-reported.
BlueCo, the consortium led by American businessman Todd Boekly, who also co-owns baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers as well as basketball’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Sparks, found the indiscretions when going back through the books and dobbed the former owners in.
The club’s co-operation spared them a harsher financial penalty and most likely a points deduction.
They also benefited from their being no breach of the league’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
With the payments added to Chelsea’s record, the £105m three-season spending limit was not exceeded.
Other clubs have been dragged over the hot coals in recent times for breaking PSR.
Leicester City, Everton, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday have all been hit hard by points deductions in recent seasons for financial breaches.
The overwhelming sentiment among the English football media is that Chelsea, who currently sit sixth on the Premier League table and are in contention for the European places next season, should have suffered the same fate.
“So, what should have happened? Undoubtedly a much bigger fine and a proper transfer ban. More contentiously – but justifiably – a points deduction. These are, whatever the level of co-operation, whatever the unfairness to the current owners, players and – above all – fans, pretty serious offences. It is cheating,” Burt wrote.
“And so, unfortunately, that needs to be recognised by far more than the thing that hits Chelsea the least – losing some more money. After all, £10.75m, despite being a record fine, is only £4.75m more than the agent’s fee for Hazard 14 years ago.
“Chelsea also took a €10m (£8.6m) hit from UEFA and are still facing sanctions in a separate investigation by the Football Association. But it is already clear that will only involve yet another fine.
“And remember that Chelsea’s new owners had set aside £100m from the agreed £2.5bn sale price to cover this. They will be left with a tidy surplus and a nice result.”
Football journalist Henry Winter was of the same opinion, writing on social media: “Yet no points deductions. Just a manageable (if record) fine and a ‘suspended one-year first-team player transfer ban (suspended for two years)’.”
“Surely they gained a sporting advantage by recruiting such players? So surely a sporting sanction should be in order? And where’s the consistency?” he continued.
“In 2008, Luton Town received a 10-point deduction for irregularities in dealing with agents. There still could be some further sanctions by the FA following its ‘ongoing investigation’.”
The outcome has clearly not gone down well in England.
Chelsea next take to the pitch on Wednesday morning AEDT when they welcome PSG to Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16.
Liam Rosenior’s side may cop it from their own fans if their performance is poor as they try to overcome a three-goal deficit against the reigning champions, who they defeated in last year’s Club World Cup final in New York.
But they will surely cop little grief from the French fans in the away end.
The weekend will be a different story, however.
This financial issue will surely be front of mind for the Everton supporters as Chelsea make the trip north to Merseyside on Sunday morning AEDT.
The Toffees were on the cusp of relegation from the Premier League for the first time in its history two years ago due to point deductions.
They appealed an initial 10-point penalty down to six in February 2024.
Another two-point deduction was handed down in the penultimate month of the season, but they stayed safe, finishing 15th.
Everton fans will surely be thinking that they are rules for some but not others.
And they will certainly make that feeling known like so many others already have.