Chelsea relieved but academy ban a setback

Chelsea will be relieved to avoid a sporting sanction, which had been the primary concern since the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital ownership reported discrepancies discovered during their purchase of the club from Roman Abramovich.

The club notes that the Premier League's investigation shows that even if the higher estimated costs of the off‑books payments to agents had been included in previous Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) calculations, the club would still have been compliant.

Their statement also stresses that they effectively opened up their entire bookkeeping system to the Premier League for the purposes of the investigation.

All parties say that thousands of documents were reviewed.

The nine‑month academy transfer ban is a setback. It applies to all age groups above the entry‑level under‑nines, although it will not affect overseas recruitment.

The ban was issued because of "early contact" made without the selling club's permission.

However, Chelsea point out that these breaches occurred under the previous leadership.

The fact the mitigating circumstances highlighted that the fine could have been £20m – and that a transfer ban and a points deduction were also considered – shows how Chelsea's decision to be fully cooperative was a sound judgement.