Chelsea 2022/2023 | THIS IS LAST YEARS THREAD YOU NUMPTIES

[bosnian_red]

Genuinely don't understand how this is possible. FFP, sure, whatever, even if he breaks it they just fine them 30m or 60m. Hardly seems like a punishment worth stopping for them. Competition bans would be another thing but doubt that happens.

But financially, how can they actually afford this? This much in 1 year? Does he plan on doing this every window? Is it just a 1 and done thing for this season and he just plans on having a 0 net spend over the next 7 years over the span of these contracts? Seriously. What the feck this is insanity

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Genuinely don't understand how this is possible. FFP, sure, whatever, even if he breaks it they just fine them 30m or 60m. Hardly seems like a punishment worth stopping for them. Competition bans would be another thing but doubt that happens.

But financially, how can they actually afford this? This much in 1 year? Does he plan on doing this every window? Is it just a 1 and done thing for this season and he just plans on having a 0 net spend over the next 7 years over the span of these contracts? Seriously. What the feck this is insanity

Our new owners are significantly richer than Abramovich ever was. Clearlake alone controls about $75 billion in assets. Boehly is cofounder and CEO of Eldridge Industries, which controls about $50 billion.

I don't think we'll be doing this every window - Boehly et al are just doing exactly what they did to revitalise the Dodgers and establish them as the model MLB franchise (well, them or the Braves). In both cases huge amounts were invested early on in young up-and-coming players, but once a core group was established they focused on commercial development, expansion of novel revenue streams, and completely overhauling the stadium.

In the coming years I'd expect us to continue to invest opportunistically in young players - but outlays like these past two windows are unlikely.

 

[Zen]

Amortisations like this cripple clubs*.... on the hook for at least £85m for the next 7/8 years before doing anything else or adding in wages etc is a bit mad and Barcelona levels bonkers, let's ignore the fact that only Kovacic's deal is dropping off after next summer.... and it's £145m for at least 2 more financial years, before about £45m or so drops off(Ziyech, Werner, Havertz, Chilwell, Mendy), then finally the Lukaku deal a year after.

* = They actually don't since football just finds a way around it.

Can't wait until they start pulling those levers.

 

[dinostar77]

Genuinely don't understand how this is possible. FFP, sure, whatever, even if he breaks it they just fine them 30m or 60m. Hardly seems like a punishment worth stopping for them. Competition bans would be another thing but doubt that happens.

But financially, how can they actually afford this? This much in 1 year? Does he plan on doing this every window? Is it just a 1 and done thing for this season and he just plans on having a 0 net spend over the next 7 years over the span of these contracts? Seriously. What the feck this is insanity

Messier1994 has explained it on his twitter...

Thread on Chelsea’s FFP position:

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[Berbaclass]

The way this works is totally fecked.

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[mu4c_20le]

I dont know what that guy is on about, but I dont trust anyone who links a wikipedia article about himself in the bio

 

[Zen]

I dont know what that guy is on about, but I dont trust anyone who links a wikipedia article about himself in the bio

Must admit, I went back to confirm this. He totally wrote that himself.... I mean compare it to genuine celeb status football journo Romano's entry... which is thread bare.

 

[Sweet Square]

Tbh it will be incredibly funny if this strategy does works and they win everything or also if it’s a complete failure, as it really is just some lad playing real life fifa.

Pure madness.

 

[RoadTrip]

Is there any semblance of a strategy here? Other than just buy whoever the feck they can.

 

[Jim Beam]

Their previous signings were questionable. Even Felix if they can't get him permanently and for that kind of outlay on loan was bonkers. But, Mudryk and Enzo could (and should) be a step in the right direction. Both have an extremely high ceiling and both are potential transformational signings for their midfield and attack. And when you have those, it is a case of the right coach to get it together.

It's hard for me to give them much plaudits when they are spending such a ridiculous outlay. It's not that they are discovering talents or finding great value where other clubs can't... they are just overpaying left, right and center on everyone in a manner and time span not seen before.
But if they can get Enzo and looking at it in isolation, Mudryk and Enzo are first two transfers under Boehly that am looking with a bit of enviousness. Haven't seen much of Nkunku to judge.

 

[bosnian_red]

Their previous signings were questionable. Even Felix if they can't get him permanently and for that kind of outlay on loan was bonkers. But, Mudryk and Enzo could (and should) be a step in the right direction. Both have an extremely high ceiling and both are potential transformational signings for their midfield and attack. And when you have those, it is a case of the right coach to get it together.

It's hard for me to give them much plaudits when they are spending such a ridiculous outlay. It's not that they are discovering talents or finding great value where other clubs can't... they are just overpaying left, right and center on everyone in a manner and time span not seen before.
But if they can get Enzo and looking at it in isolation, Mudryk and Enzo are first two transfers under Boehly that am looking with a bit of enviousness. Haven't seen much of Nkunku to judge.

Nkunku is a second striker or a left winger. Basically where they have Felix now or Mudryk now. Also havertz/Mount/Sterling/Pulisic and Hudson Odoi out on loan.

In short, Nkunku on top of all of these is pointless. Though they'll probably sell Pulisic at least. Can't see the rest leaving. Maybe Havertz?

 

[Waynne]

Boehly's gona make it rain come the summer transfer window.

 

[SirReginald]

Nkunku is a second striker or a left winger. Basically where they have Felix now or Mudryk now. Also havertz/Mount/Sterling/Pulisic and Hudson Odoi out on loan.

In short, Nkunku on top of all of these is pointless. Though they'll probably sell Pulisic at least. Can't see the rest leaving. Maybe Havertz?

If a £40+ offer came in for Havertz I believe we would sell. I believe a loan would also be accepted in the summer in the hope his fortunes can change.

Lukaku will likely be the next Bakayoko and loaned out until his contract expires or an offer of £30-40~mil comes in.

Ziyech is going and won’t return and Pulisic will leave in the summer in some capacity.

There’s was also one or two rumors Sterling would be available but I reckon he will stay.

Fofana will be loaned out and given the severity of Broja’s injury I reckon a loan will be made for him also.

Felix will only sign permanently if Havertz leaves I suspect but the option is there.

Mount is an inside forward but he see’s himself long term as an 8 (don’t necessarily agree) so you will see him slowly adjust to deeper roles.

So while the list appears bloated at this time. It will very quickly whittle itself down.

 

[Arlo]

I don't know if it's been discussed anywhere, but how much longer until Boehly ticks the box requiring that billion pound investment in the team?

 

[reelworld]

I actually don't mind Havertz. I think there's a player there that United could utilize

 

[bringbackbebe]

Assuming Fernandez joins, a total of 15 players would have been purchased this season for non-negligible sums.

S.No​	Player​	Base Cost £​	Type​
1​	Enzo Fernandez*​	105,000,000​	First Team​
2​	Wesley Fofana​	69,500,000​	First Team​
3​	Mykhailo Mudryk​	62,000,000​	First Team​
4​	Marc Cucurella​	56,000,000​	First Team​
5​	Raheem Sterling​	47,500,000​	First Team​
6​	Benoît Badiashile​	35,000,000​	First Team​
7​	Kalidou Koulibaly​	33,000,000​	First Team​
8​	Noni Madueke​	29,000,000​	First Team​
9​	Malo Gusto​	26,000,000​	First Team​
10​	Carney Chukwuemeka​	20,000,000​	First Team​
11​	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang​	10,300,000​	First Team​
12​	Andrey Santos​	18,000,000​	Future Prospect​
13​	Cesare Casadei​	13,000,000​	Future Prospect​
14​	Gabriel Slonina​	8,100,000​	Future Prospect​
15​	David Datro Fofana​	8,000,000​	Future Prospect​
​	Total​	540,400,000​	​

Assuming all of these players will be involved in some capacity for Chelsea next season, your squad is going to look like this (8 HG players included):

GK: Kepa, Mendy, Slonina/Bettinelli​

LB: Chilwell (HG), Cucurella​

RB: James (HG), Gusto, Azp​

CB: Koulibaly, Fofana (HG), Badiashile, Chalobah (HG)​

Mid Main: Fernandez, Kovacic, Mount (HG)​

Mid Backup: , LoftusC (HG), Chuk (HG), Santos, Casadei​

FW Main: Sterling (HG), Havertz, Mudryk​

FW Backup: Broja, Fofana, Madueke​

That means the below players will leave:
Jorginho (0), Kante (0), Ziyech (10m), Gallagher (40m), Pulisic (20m), Thiago (0), Auba (0) - Total (70m)

This is assuming Felix/Zakaria loans won't be converted & Lewis Hall, who seems a fantastic prospect, is going to be loaned out (I've also assumed Mount gets a deeper role to accommodate more forwards).

The addition of Mudryk is going to elevate your attack significantly but there's an awful lot of offloading you're going to have to do & next season's squad will look absolutely nothing like previous year's. Fernandez for Jorginho is a like-for-like swap (could be better or worse, only time will tell).

Defence still looks meh.

 

[mitchmouse]

Astonishing goings-on - making Abramovich look like a miser... meanwhile our tools won't splash out for a can of Coke on deadline day

 

[Kasper]

What I don't understand is why Boehly didn't just buy a football club earlier if he's so keen on burning money.
Kinda weird that it took Russia invading Ukraine for him to realize that football is a place to invest.

 

[arnie_ni]

The way this works is totally fecked.

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Equivalent for one year only. They have 6 more years to balance in this scenario

 

[dinostar77]

Assuming Fernandez joins, a total of 15 players would have been purchased this season for non-negligible sums.

S.No​	Player​	Base Cost £​	Type​
1​	Enzo Fernandez*​	105,000,000​	First Team​
2​	Wesley Fofana​	69,500,000​	First Team​
3​	Mykhailo Mudryk​	62,000,000​	First Team​
4​	Marc Cucurella​	56,000,000​	First Team​
5​	Raheem Sterling​	47,500,000​	First Team​
6​	Benoît Badiashile​	35,000,000​	First Team​
7​	Kalidou Koulibaly​	33,000,000​	First Team​
8​	Noni Madueke​	29,000,000​	First Team​
9​	Malo Gusto​	26,000,000​	First Team​
10​	Carney Chukwuemeka​	20,000,000​	First Team​
11​	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang​	10,300,000​	First Team​
12​	Andrey Santos​	18,000,000​	Future Prospect​
13​	Cesare Casadei​	13,000,000​	Future Prospect​
14​	Gabriel Slonina​	8,100,000​	Future Prospect​
15​	David Datro Fofana​	8,000,000​	Future Prospect​
​	Total​	540,400,000​	​

Assuming all of these players will be involved in some capacity for Chelsea next season, your squad is going to look like this (8 HG players included):

GK: Kepa, Mendy, Slonina/Bettinelli​

LB: Chilwell (HG), Cucurella​

RB: James (HG), Gusto, Azp​

CB: Koulibaly, Fofana (HG), Badiashile, Chalobah (HG)​

Mid Main: Fernandez, Kovacic, Mount (HG)​

Mid Backup: , LoftusC (HG), Chuk (HG), Santos, Casadei​

FW Main: Sterling (HG), Havertz, Mudryk​

FW Backup: Broja, Fofana, Madueke​

That means the below players will leave:
Jorginho (0), Kante (0), Ziyech (10m), Gallagher (40m), Pulisic (20m), Thiago (0), Auba (0) - Total (70m)

This is assuming Felix/Zakaria loans won't be converted & Lewis Hall, who seems a fantastic prospect, is going to be loaned out (I've also assumed Mount gets a deeper role to accommodate more forwards).

The addition of Mudryk is going to elevate your attack significantly but there's an awful lot of offloading you're going to have to do & next season's squad will look absolutely nothing like previous year's. Fernandez for Jorginho is a like-for-like swap (could be better or worse, only time will tell).

Defence still looks meh.

So they will be in the market for a striker or two this summer. Havertz would be an ideal firmino replacement for liverpool.

Also havent chelsea started talks with thiago about a new deal and they may keep kante as well.

Youve missed out nkuku and lukaku will be back (i think).

 

[rimaldo]

I know fans always go on and on about total spend, net spend etc. but the only thing that matters to the club is how it all looks in the balance sheet including amortisations and that's too complicated for most regular fans to understand.

agreed. chelsea are just doing the equivalent of payday loans and when the money runs out; they’ll get another payday loan. and when that money runs out they’ll get another payday loan, and so on and so forth. they’re just playing the system.

 

[Mickeza]

The way this works is totally fecked.

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You’d think sales would be amortised over the remaining length of the contract just like purchases. Odd.

 

[bringbackbebe]

So they will be in the market for a striker or two this summer. Havertz would be an ideal firmino replacement for liverpool.

Also havent chelsea started talks with thiago about a new deal and they may keep kante as well.

Youve missed out nkuku and lukaku will be back (i think).

Havertz out Nukunu in is a possibility. There's no space in the 25 man squad for Kante & Thiago. How do they plan to register these players?

Lukaku will be loaned out every year till his contract expires I think. Don't see any club wasting money on him to buy him outright.

 

[bringbackbebe]

You’d think sales would be amortised over the remaining length of the contract just like purchases. Odd.

That's not how it works in accounting. When the asset is sold, everything related to the asset is booked & closed at the time of sale. The asset basically ceases to be a part of the business.

 

[GoonerInPeace]

Its no secret what they are doing. They are spending big and signing players on long term contracts to amoritize the cost to comply with FFP.

Its not a 'loophole', its not 'smart'. Its a high-risk strategy that could pay off big, or be a spectacular failure.

Lakaku, Koulibaly, Cucarella, even Sterling serve as examples of how this could go wrong. Loading up players on big long-term contracts who in the end turn out to be duds. Lakuku is on 200k a week until 2026. How do Chelsea ship him?

I also see no sign of improvement on the pitch. I dont think Potter has a cohesive plan or way to play, players are being signed for him and he is to make the most of it.

Im not particuarly worried about Chelsea on the pitch. Surely off the pitch they can nick your transfer targets, but a scattetgun approach and asking the manager to make it work isnt exactly a great idea in my view

 

[Dan_F]

You’d think sales would be amortised over the remaining length of the contract just like purchases. Odd.

The problem will be that they need to sell players for that price every season for the next seven years, just to pay off what’s already spent. Not even adding in any players to be signed in the coming windows.

It’s fine at the moment as there are a good number of sellable assets. You can guarantee the likes of Gallagher wouldn’t be sold at United, so it’s a very different strategy than what we’re used to seeing.

Chelsea have to be successful on the pitch, that’s the bottom line. If they have a couple years out of the Champions League, no cups etc, their sellable assets lose value and they struggle to make the money back. But then again, if the punishment is a fine, who cares.

 

[Zen86]

Wouldn't be surprised if they end up on their arse similar to Barcelona in a few years. It's not a sustainable strategy and these kinds of transfer policies rarely work.

 

[Rnd898]

What I don't understand is why Boehly didn't just buy a football club earlier if he's so keen on burning money.
Kinda weird that it took Russia invading Ukraine for him to realize that football is a place to invest.

It's well documented that Boehly already tried to buy Chelsea in 2019 for $3 billion but Roman wasn't interested in selling at that time.

Going by the previous interest it seems Chelsea were always his priority but I'm sure he would have been interested in other PL top end clubs if one had become available for takeover but it just hasn't happened in recent years before Roman put the club up for sale. You don't just buy something if nobody has interest in selling.

Here's an article by Matt Law from 2019:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...e-todd-boehly-submit-new-bid-chelsea-despite/

edit: The article actually says he has also tried to buy Tottenham in 2014 but Levy turned him down.

 

[Jeffthered]

Not sure what is happening at Chelsea, it's quite crazy. Must be great if you're part of it all, some people making some good cash out of all this.

Don't think its good for the game, not at all, it's inflating the market, at a time when many clubs are pulling back from such an approach to squad building. Their young/youth players are barely mentioned, if at all. And the pundits practically wet themselves, over players they do not even know that much about, SKY will be going nuts... It's rather surreal.

However, as a Utd fan, I would happily take Jorginho, Kante, Gallagher, or Pulisic if reasonable deals were there to be had.

 

[romufc]

However, as a Utd fan, I would happily take Jorginho, Kante, Gallagher, or Pulisic if reasonable deals were there to be had.

Really? An injury prone Kante?

Pulisic to play LW where we have Rashford and Garnacho?

Gallagher for what position? He can't defend, he cant pass, he cant attack.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

However, as a Utd fan, I would happily take Jorginho, Kante, Gallagher, or Pulisic if reasonable deals were there to be had.

I could see some use for Jorginho, as cover in midfield, but none of the others.

 

[Jeffthered]

Really? An injury prone Kante?

Pulisic to play LW where we have Rashford and Garnacho?

Gallagher for what position? He can't defend, he cant pass, he cant attack.

Really? An injury prone Kante?

Pulisic to play LW where we have Rashford and Garnacho?

Gallagher for what position? He can't defend, he cant pass, he cant attack.

However, as a Utd fan, I would happily take Jorginho, Kante, Gallagher, or Pulisic if reasonable deals were there to be had.

So, if after consideration we found Kante had fitness concerns, then any deal would not be reasonable. Pulisic is a good player, needs a change and would provide a good, v strong addition to our squad, in a number of positions, not just coming off the left flank. Gallagher is another, v good player, proven that he can equip himself in the Premiership. Your observations on his ability, I don't agree with. I think he would be super at Old Trafford.

 

[Messier1994]

That's not how it works in accounting. When the asset is sold, everything related to the asset is booked & closed at the time of sale. The asset basically ceases to be a part of the business.

Yeah, but like @arnie_ni said, this only funds one year of those players, then they have to sell a player with a 40m net profit yearly to keep funding just the players bought for those “240m”.

1. What Chelsea is exploiting is the following. Under “FFP” (actually replaced by “FSR”, there is nothing “fair play” about these rules, instead they are about financial sustainability), you are licensed on a yearly basis.

When you are licensed, UEFA takes a look at your past performance and either give you a green light, an amber light (sanctions) or a red light (no license).

2. Between the times you are being reviewed in light of whether a license should be granted in 2022 and 2023 — there is no continuous monitoring whatsoever.

3. After you hit a traffic light and got an amber, you must however agree to enter into a Settlement Agreement with UEFA, and the fun is over for the coming 3 years. Under a settlement agreement, you are continuously monitored and reviewed every 6 months, and violations of intermediary financial targets included in the SA will result in progressive sanctions being given out. Sooner or later you have to comply.

4. The new FSR are implemented gradually over a period of 3 years. Besides a review this summer, which they may or not pass — it’s close due to the pandemic relief being so generous — the first FSR review comes in 2024.

5. I cannot see how Chelsea cannot end up breaching these rules, if they finish outside the top 4 this year. They probably have to sell both James and Mount to not to. But the way the rules work, they can probably spend more by breaching the rules once and paying the fines and then comply with the settlement agreement, then by scrambling to stay within the rules.

 

[captain666]

Going to be interesting to see if all these signings don't gel!

 

[Berbaclass]

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[ForeverRed1]

I wonder how potter feels about this and how much say he has in it? It surely puts him under incredible pressure.

 

[SirReginald]

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Can’t remember the last player they signed from us that actually did well. At least after their honeymoon period was over. It’s a good deal to receive a fee for him now than leave on a free at the end of the year and substantial wages cut.

 

[Ayoba]

Does amortizing mean spreading the payments over a number of years, like a mortgage for example?

 

[dinostar77]

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Gutted its not utd in for him. Would be a useful midfield option at 6 and 8.

 

[dinostar77]

I wonder how potter feels about this and how much say he has in it? It surely puts him under incredible pressure.

We probably need a seperate thread, but something is going to have to change in the CL eventually in terms of number of qualifers from the PL. Next season realistically we will have: arsenal, city, man utd, chelsea, newcastle, liverpool (6 teams) all going for 4 qualifying spots.

The two that miss out will have the FSR issues to deal with for the following season so it will limit their spending to get back into CL spots. It also puts managers under incredible pressure.

The billionaire owners will put UEFA under pressure for more change.