Chelsea announce £120m loss, FFP compliance on nearly £500m turnover in 2021-22

Chelsea’s 2021-22 financial accounts were due at the end of this month, and it looks like the beancounters got things done just in time, with the club announcing a turnover of nearly £500m — which might be close to a record number — but also a massive loss of £121.3m, which is the third highest in our history.

This follows a (mostly pandemic-induced) record loss of over £150m last year, which beat out even the £140m from Abramovich’s second season in 2004-05. Making history!

Despite those eyebrow-raising numbers, Chelsea assure that we continue to “comply with UEFA and Premier League financial regulations”.

Last year’s accounts were given some leeway because of the pandemic by both the Premier League and UEFA; it’s unclear if we’ll get any similar favors for the sanctions that were not at all in our control but still had to deal with for three months — resulting in “extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue” as per Chelsea’s announcement.

I’m sure @SwissRamble will analyze the accounts once they’re published in full, and give us all some insight as to how it all shakes out, and what sort of challenges we’re going to face for this season’s numbers after such a massive spending spree in two record-breaking transfer windows...