Chelsea announce worrying net losses for 2021-22 after ‘extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue’

CHELSEA have revealed "extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue" as a result of the sanctions imposed on them last year.

The UK government placed former Blues owner Roman Abramovich under sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and his links to the country's president Vladimir Putin.

And the full impact of the sanctions has now been revealed.

The club announced net losses of £121.3million for the financial year of 2021-22.

Chelsea were handed a "special license" to continue operating throughout the sanctions.

However, they were restricted in a number of aspects, including receiving revenue and negotiating contract renewals for players, staff and sponsors.

Despite this, the club say they are still set to comply with Premier League and Uefa financial regulations.

The massive losses come despite turnover increasing to £481.3m from £434.9m the year prior, which was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

An increase in operating costs including matchday and non-matchday expenses has been attributed as among the causes for the losses.

A one-off payment of £26.6m to former boss Antonio Conte and his staff was also included in the figures.

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Worryingly for the club, the sanctions will continue to be felt in the coming years, with Chelsea saying: "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."

The 21/22 results show the club made £123m from incoming transfer fees - including Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma.

During the same period, Chelsea spent £118m on incoming players.

The latest figures do NOT include the club's recent £600m transfer splurge under new owner Todd Boehly.