Chelsea face UEFA backlash for big January transfer contracts

UEFA is set to take action to prevent other clubs from joining Chelsea in taking advantage of a Financial Fair Play loophole to splash astronomical amounts of money in a short period. The Blues have relentlessly delved into the transfer market since Todd Boehly became the club’s owner while seemingly avoiding FFP limitations.

Since buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in May 2022, Boehly has sanctioned over £400million in transfer fees across the summer and January transfer windows.

And the spending before the winter deadline isn’t expected to end there, with Graham Potter targeting a right-back, midfielder and another forward.

It has smashed the previous record of transfer expenditure across a single season set by Manchester City, who splurged £328m in 2017/18.

Chelsea’s relentless transfer activity has raised mass questioning over how they act within FFP regulations, but a loophole has emerged, which they have used under Boehly.

The American owner has handed out mega contracts to spread the impact of Chelsea’s spending.

He most recently tied Mykhaylo Mudryk down to an eight-and-a-half-year deal, the longest in Premier League history.

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Before the Ukrainian winger, Benoit Badiashile signed a seven-and-a-half-year contract, David Datro Fofana penned a six-and-a-half-year deal and Wesley Fofana seven years.

The process is called amortisation, meaning the annual cost of a player’s fee will be less if their contract is longer.

For example, UEFA’s FFP calculations will see Chelsea spending just over £9m per year on Mudryk, whereas if he only signed a four-year deal, it would be around £20m.

However, according to The Times, UEFA plans to come down hard on Chelsea and any other club considering adopting the same method.

European football’s governing body will set a five-year maximum on the length of time over which a player’s transfer fee can be split.

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