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Chelsea's full 2012-2013 financial statement was made available today, and the numbers show that Chelsea's wage bill has risen to £176.6m, up from £171.1m in 2011-2012.
Chelsea had previously reported it's £50m loss during the 2012-2013 season a week and a half ago, but now that we have all of the figures, we can begin to see exactly where Chelsea sits financially and make some updated FFP projections (sneak peek: we're stlll fine).
There are some very interesting figures that Steve and I will break down in the coming days, but for now, let's just focus on the wage bill.
Wage bill through the years
2012-13 - £176.6m
2011-12 - £171m
2010-11 - £189.5m
2009-10 - £172.5m
2008-09 - £165.6m
As we discussed yesterday, the reported wage figures includes those wages not only paid to the players, but also the now 624 full-time employees and 570 part-time matchday employees.
Chelsea's 2013-14 wage bill is likely going to be even higher, but Chelsea could save nearly £24m on the 2014-2015 wage bill just by letting Samuel Eto'o, Frank Lampard, and Ashley Cole walk this summer while re-signing John Terry to a one-year extension at £100k per week.
However, this analysis naively expects Romelu Lukaku, Marco van Ginkel, and Patrick van Aanholt / Ryan Bertrand to step up and fill those vacant positions. While Lukaku should certainly be able to fill Eto'o's shoes, the jury is out on the other positions, and players will likely have to be brought in. Said players will, of course, cut in to that £24m savings.
If anyone has anything you'd like either Steve or I to address when we take a look a closer look at the financial statement, just let us know and we'll be sure to cover it.
