Premier League 'bids to close financial loophole that helped Chelsea comply with PSR regulations' by selling hotels and women's team to sister company

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

The Premier League will reportedly attempt to close a financial loophole that has previously helped Chelsea to comply with PSR regulations.
The Blues have undergone a period of heavy spending since a Todd Boehly-led consortium took over the club in 2022, with an outlay of more than £1billion on transfers during that period.
This has meant they have been under pressure to meet financial rules, but in recent years the Blues have sold their women's team and on-site club hotels to a sister company which helped them to satisfy regulations.
Chelsea's women's team fetched £198.7m, while two hotels brought in £70.5m in profit.
And, according to The Times, the Premier League is planning to try and close that loophole at the league's annual meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
All 20 clubs are expected to be asked to vote on an alterations to rules that would state similar transactions would not be allowed to be declared as income for PSR purposes.
For a measure to pass, 14 out of 20 clubs would have to vote in favour.
The report goes on to say that the wording of any such proposal would be crucial, with similar attempts last year failing to go through due to this reason.
It was felt the description was too broad and could lead to other unintended consequences in regards to selling assets externally.
There is also said to be a feeling that if Chelsea have been able to benefit from the loophole then other clubs should be allowed to as well.
The Premier League is still finalising how the proposed rule changes will be worded.
The women's team figure is yet to be approved by the Premier League, although the club will argue that the recent eight per cent investment by Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, values them at £245m.
Meanwhile, the regulations in the Premier League are different to that of UEFA, with the European football governing body not accepting the sale of assets to sister companies as income.
This means that the transfer of the Blues' women's team in the run-up to the 2023-24 finances deadline allowed Chelsea to post a £129.6m profit for the Premier League, whereas it was a £70.4m loss for UEFA.
UEFA restrictions are also stricter in terms of limiting the losses a club can make and the amount that can be spent on wages, transfers and agents' fees in relation to club's revenue.
Chelsea's finances did receive a major boost last month when they qualified for the Champions League, something that can be worth up to £100million in prize money.
Their triumph in the Europa Conference League final also earned the club around £15m and gives the Blues wiggle room as they attempt to meet PSR restrictions this time around.