Sunderland’s Premier League rivals Chelsea fined £10.75million over secret transfer payments | OneFootball

Sunderland’s Premier League rivals Chelsea have been fined £10.75million after an investigation into historic financial irregularities during Roman Abramovich’s tenure.

The sanction covers undisclosed payments worth £47.5million to agents between 2011 and 2018, plus breaches of youth registration rules. According to Sunderland Echo, the club have also received a nine-month ban preventing their academy from registering new players for rule breaches between 2019 and 2022.

Investigators found the payments were made with the knowledge and approval of former senior employees and directors. The transactions were flagged by the American ownership during 2022 takeover due diligence, then reported to the Premier League, the Football Association and UEFA.

Deals involving Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle and Nemanja Matic were among those linked to the payments. There is no suggestion any of the players were involved in wrongdoing. Four other players were not publicly named.

The financial penalty could have reached £20million, but was reduced due to the club’s proactive reporting and full cooperation. Chelsea have accepted the settlement, though part of the sanction is suspended and could be activated if there are similar future breaches or if information later proves intentionally inaccurate.

UEFA had already fined Chelsea £8.64million (€10million) in 2023 for incomplete financial reporting tied to the previous ownership, after uncovering large transfer-related payments to offshore companies that were not included in submissions.

Head coach Liam Rosenior said the issue is not a negative distraction and that drawing a line under it allows the club to plan for the long term, speaking before the Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain.

The case underscores the strict financial reporting demands on clubs in the Premier League and UEFA competitions.

Source: Sunderland Echo