IT was only when Chelsea discovered they were not the only big beasts in the Premier League jungle that Roman Abramovich decided he did not want to play by the rules any more.
The Russian oligarch’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in 2003 had been a game-changer in every sense.
Within two years, thanks to a massive spending spree in harness with the managerial force of nature embodied in Jose Mourinho, Chelsea had already smashed the established order.
Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ were vanquished. Manchester United usurped. Chelsea in the ascendant.
The key was that huge war chest the billionaire had arrived with — allowing the Blues to buy almost anyone they wanted.
And it was a situation perfectly summed up by then-Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein in Monaco ahead of a Champions League draw.
It followed a summer in which Dein had withstood attempts by the Blues to seduce Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry across the capital.
Dein, ruefully, remarked: “Roman Abramovich has parked his tanks on our lawn and is firing £50 notes at us.”
The mission was an outstanding success. Able to outspend their domestic rivals, the first seven years went off without a hitch.
Three Premier League crowns. Three FA Cup triumphs. And League Cup winners twice. A trophy-gathering machine.
But then along came Manchester City’s new Abu Dhabi owners.
Even wealthier than Abramovich with their truly bottomless coffers.
And with the success of the Prem as a global commodity plus TV deals ensuring financial treasure troves for all the top teams — and some of those, like Spurs, who were new to the table — the equation soon changed.
Prem clubs and Uefa agreed to bring in new financial controls, although nobody at that stage truly anticipated the impact of Financial Fair Play or Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
What it did mean was Chelsea could not just spend, spend, spend.
And even if they wanted to, they now had domestic rivals who could do exactly the same.
Which is why, from 2010-11, Abramovich had a new approach.
And Chelsea’s guilty pleas to the 74 charges laid by the FA, following on from their 2023 settlement deal with Uefa, is proof of the allegations.
On his own, or with the knowledge of only his closest confidants, it seems the Blues owner decided the rules were not for him.
If he wanted to a player, especially one who was tempted elsewhere, the wheels would be greased accordingly.
Payments likely to extend to many millions of pounds over the six seasons under investigation, allegedly made to the agents of those players.
An inducement and enticement to ignore other offers and make the move to SW6.
More critically as far as football chiefs were concerned, this happened without putting those payments through the club’s books. A huge breach of the regulations.
A Big Four accountancy giant was asked to investigate by Chelsea’s new owners when they discovered the discrepancy after taking over following Abramovich’s forced sale in 2022.
That it found Chelsea would NOT have breached the PSR limits if the payments had been declared is an ironic irrelevance.
What is unquestioned — and Chelsea’s admissions underline that fact — is that Abramovich’s personal involvement in getting the deals done was a huge factor.
Chelsea’s troubles in full
By Martin Lipton
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
Chelsea are accused of 74 breaches of agent and third-party ownership rules from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
They allegedly disguised their use of unauthorised agents — and allowed a third party to retain the economic rights to players.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
The FA charges and Chelsea’s statement made that clear — the deals were organised by former owner Roman Abramovich, with none of the payments going through the club’s official accounts.
HOW MANY PLAYERS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
That’s unclear. But all will be revealed in the FA Commission’s written reasons after the case. Chelsea are understood to be ready to admit all 74 offences related to signing players from overseas clubs.
Deals for Samuel Eto’o, Willian and Eden Hazard are central to the case but there were 51 overseas deals in the period.
There is NO suggestion any of the players were aware of the payments.
HOW DID THEY COME TO LIGHT?
Chelsea’s owners, led by Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, found them during their takeover process.
Uefa agreed an £8.6million “settlement” but the Prem investigation is said to be “ongoing” and now there are the FA charges.
HOW SERIOUS IS IT?
Were Abramovich still involved, it may have been very serious indeed.
The Commission COULD deduct points but that seems unlikely.
Self-reporting and Chelsea’s immediate guilty pleas are significant mitigation so a fine — probably in excess of £10m — and a suspended transfer ban are more probable.
WHAT IS CHELSEA’S POSITION?
They hope for a “swift” resolution and feel their transparency will lead to a financial penalty rather than “sporting” sanctions.
A savage penalty could encourage other clubs to hide any internal wrongdoing they uncover.
The Blues said in a statement: “The club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the club’s files and historical data.
“We wish to place on record our gratitude to the FA for their engagement with the club on this complex case.”
WILL IT BE DRAWN OUT LIKE MAN CITY’S CASE?
Unlikely. Chelsea want it over quickly, while the FA would like a rapid disciplinary “win” after recent embarrassments. We can probably expect a resolution within a few weeks.
After all, Spurs were convinced they had both Eden Hazard in 2012, and Willian 12 months later, in their pockets. Until they turned up at the Bridge.
At the time, it was suggested Abramovich had made a personal call to Anzhi Makhachkala owner and fellow oligarch Suleyman Kerimov to hijack Willian’s planned move to Tottenham.
Kerimov is now — like the former Chelsea owner — on the UK and US sanctions list for their support of Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.
That appears to have been only half the story regarding transfer skulduggery, with Chelsea facing charges under six different areas of the FA regulatory book.
And another deal — also done with now-defunct Russian club Anzhi — saw Cameroon superstar and ex-Barcelona man Samuel Eto’o join for the first season of Mourinho’s second spell.
SunSport understands the charges only relate to players signed from overseas clubs during the period in question.
But those six seasons saw 51 such transfers completed. And while not all of them involved such payments, the dodgy deals were not only those to capture Eto’o, Willian and Hazard.
Of course, none of it might have been uncovered for some time yet had the new Chelsea ownership — led by Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly — not ‘fessed up’ soon after taking control of the club from Abramovich.
And those prompt admissions already persuaded Uefa chiefs to fine them a relatively lenient £8.6m in 2023.
That will be a huge part of the club’s mitigation — along with the fact that all the breaches took place in the Abramovich era.
If, as Chelsea anticipate, they do end up with a fine from the FA over this, you suspect that plenty of Blues supporters will have no doubts it was worth it.
Read the full article here
