Chelsea post record £262.4m pre-tax loss as costs surge despite rising revenues | OneFootball

Chelsea have reported a Premier League record pre-tax loss of £262.4m for 2024/25, despite revenues rising to £490.9m. According to Hounslow Herald, it is the biggest deficit ever posted by a Premier League club.

The loss surpasses Manchester City’s £197.5m in 2010/11 and marks a sharp swing from the £128.4m profit recorded a year earlier, a figure lifted by the internal sale of the women’s team to BlueCo.

Chelsea say higher operating costs were the main driver, with a return to European competition increasing matchday and tournament expenses. Broadcasting income also climbed, and a successful Club World Cup campaign helped deliver the second-highest revenue in the club’s history.

The numbers reflect heavy investment since the 2022 takeover, including sizeable transfer fees, long contracts and rapid squad turnover. The club led the league in intermediary payments, sending more than £65m to agents over the past 12 months.

The club remain confident the short-term hit will be offset in the next cycle. Revenues could approach £700m in 2025/26, driven by major player sales, UEFA Champions League income and the full financial impact of winning the Club World Cup.

Large outgoing deals last summer, with sales such as Noni Madueke, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Djordje Petrovic, helped bring in more than £300m. Chelsea also remain compliant with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, which exclude areas such as infrastructure, youth development and women’s football from core calculations. The scale of the deficit is likely to renew scrutiny of a model that banks on long-term sustainability through performance, commercial growth and player trading.

Source: Hounslow Herald