Chelsea announces Abramovich sanctions cost the club £121m
Issuing their annual financial records, the Blues confirmed UK government's sanctions on their former owner, Roman Abramovich cost them £121m.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government as they believed he had close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The sanctions forced Chelsea to operate under a special licence, restricting the club from selling tickets and signing contracts with players until Todd Boehly purchased the club on May 30, 2022. Chelsea announced in a statement on Monday that these sanctions resulted in a huge net loss.
"The results for the year have been impacted by the sanctions placed on the club's previous owner on 10 March 2022,"
the statement read.
"As a result of the sanctions, the club was required to operate within the limitations of a special licence issued by the UK government. These restrictions were in place until the completion of the Club's sale on 30 May 2022.
"During this period, the Club was restricted in a number of areas including, but not limited to, its ability to sell matchday and season tickets, sell merchandise, accept event bookings, as well as sign contracts with players and commercial sponsorship partners, which collectively resulted in extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue.
"Furthermore, some of these limitations are also expected to have an impact on the financials in the following years due to the long-term impact from restrictions on entering into new contractual arrangements.
"Towards the end of the sanctioned period, the club was permitted to sell certain matchday tickets, with the Premier League committing to donate all revenue from these sales to charity. The restrictions were lifted following the change in ownership, and all operations have now resumed."
Despite their overall net loss of £121.3m, Chelsea confirmed they continue to meet the Premier League and UEFA's financial regulations.
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