Chelsea will need to conduct their transfer business in a more savvy manor this summer as financial restraints role in for Todd Boehly and Co to abide by. Following on from the biggest transfer spend over 12 months of any football club in the history of the game, there is still an alarming amount of work to do.
The outgoings are the most pressing issue, with a squad filled to the rafters of unsettled, unhappy, underperforming and overpaid players that all see their futures elsewhere. Over 15 stars are set to be sold this summer with the potential for more should the requisite arrivals come in.
It continues the theme of wholesale change at the club with Mauricio Pochettino coming in to a side totally different not only to the one he used to face as Tottenham manager but also that took to the field under Thomas Tuchel just over one year ago.
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In order to fill the remaining holes in the squad - namely in goal, central midfield and up front - Boehly-Clearlake Capital will have to put their hands in their pockets again, but not before some money is recouped from their endless list of assets on the books. Without the sales there will be serious financial pressure on the club.
The 2021/22 accounts were once again a damaging read for the Blues despite heavy player sales once more. This time, without Champions League football to help out and the severe drop off in league position, the purse strings will need to be tightened once more.
Winning the Champions League, as Chelsea did in 2021, is worth £73.13m ($90.73m) if a team wins all its group games. The Blues recouped just less than that after drawing two of their matches. 45% of the total prize pot, which is over £1.5bn ($1.86bn), goes to the 32 sides in the groups, with the rest then handed out accordingly throughout the knockouts.
For Chelsea, this is a major drop-off that they simply won't get. Just qualifying for the tournament alone ensures a windfall of £13.59m ($16.86m) which is quite a helpful sum. For example, it would pay for Enzo Fernandez for one season on the books, or cover the cost of Joao Felix's six-month loan, the entire transfer cost of David Datro Fofana or Andrey Santos.
There is also the broadcasting revenue to take into account which represents another avenue that Chelsea simply won't be able to access this summer.
It has long been said that being without European football makes it near impossible to attract the best players but that doesn't appear to be the case in Chelsea's situation. They have already secured Pochettino and the last time they were out of Europe altogether saw N'Golo Kante and David Luiz join the club.
Things have changed since then, though, and this is just another hurdle for Boehly to navigate past.
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