Chelsea chiefs have navigated the club’s finances with serious expertise this summer, thanks largely to Enzo Maresca’s squad and their exploits on the field.
The west Londoners, by winning the Club World Cup, qualifying for the Champions League and selling a host of unwanted players, have brought in close to the £400 million mark.
The CWC win yielded prize money of around £87.5 million, adding to their estimated £80m earnings from qualifying for the Champions League, whilst £220 million has been raised through outgoing transfers.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Basir Humphreys, Noni Madueke, Marcus Bettinelli, Mathis Amougou, Djordje Petrovic, João Félix, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu left earlier this summer on permanent deals – and to the great benefit of Chelsea’s coffers.
Over the last few months, Chelsea have been a money-making machine, and it’s perhaps not spoken about enough.
This isn’t even factoring in the club’s TV revenue, sponsorship endorsements and merchandise sales, with Chelsea looking in excellent stead when it comes to navigating the Premier League’s PSR rules this year.
Rivals often ponder why Chelsea can spend millions in the transfer market year-on-year, but it is clear that the club’s financial windfalls from numerous sources allow them to do so.
Considering Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Renato Veiga, Axel Disasi, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling, Alfie Gilchrist and, potentially, Tyrique George, could all still be sold/loaned before the transfer deadline on September 1, Chelsea can expect even an even greater incoming cash flow over the coming days.
There is also the big matter surrounding Chelsea’s front of shirt sponsor, which is still up in the air and has the potential to bring in millions.
Maresca’s side’s jerseys were sponsor-less for Chelsea’s opening Premier League game of the season against Crystal Palace last weekend, but according to football finance expert Stefan Borson, that could soon change.
Borson, speaking to Football Insider, says Chelsea are “adamant” that they’re about to do a “very big” shirt sponsorship deal – which could land them tens of millions.
“If they went the whole season without it, it would be very significant,” said Borson.
“I think it would be at least £60million if it went the whole season. But I’ll take them at their word that they’re about to sign something very big, and then there won’t be a hole, and it’ll actually end up being £60million just for the front of the shirt if you take them at their word.
“It seems very strange to me that they haven’t done it yet.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense that people were waiting for the outcome of the Club World Cup. It’s very easy to factor in what might happen in an individual tournament.
“That’s only one year of maybe four or five on the contract, so that in itself doesn’t sound very believable.
“They are adamant they’re about to do a very big deal, so we’ll see.”
The Blues agreed a £40 million-a-year deal with Infinite Athlete in September 2023, but that arrangement expired last summer.
In April, Chelsea also announced that DAMAC would appear on the front of their shirts for the rest of the 24/25 season, so the question remains – who will be next?
There are very few rumours in terms of brand names, barring Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air, who’ve been seriously linked. However, the BBC report that talks are ongoing behind-the-scenes as Chelsea carefully try to align with the right partner.
