Chelsea Football Club may be facing a potential point deduction from the Premier League after the club reported itself over suspected secret payments tied to the transfers of Willian and Samuel Eto’o during the Roman Abramovich reign.
The league’s governing body is currently delving into the purported financial breaches at Stamford Bridge. The revelations regarding these financial activities ironically came to light after being reported by the Todd Boehly consortium who bought the club in May 2022.
This transition in ownership took place when the Todd Boehly group purchased Chelsea from Roman Abramovich. The change took place after the UK government imposed sanctions on the oligarch in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This isn’t the first financial controversy for the Blues. UEFA had previously fined the club a hefty £8.6 million for presenting “incomplete financial information” over a span from 2012 to 2019.
However, recent reports from The Times suggest that the situation might escalate. The transfers in question, specifically of Willian and Eto’o from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2013, are now being closely examined.
Alleged financial records imply that apart from the standard transfer fee, payments were made by Chelsea to offshore companies and separate “Russian entities”. while Willian was procured for £30 million from Anzhi, Eto’o joined the Blues on a free transfer. Presently, there is no evidence suggesting that either of the players had knowledge of these additional payments.
