Chelsea, of English soccer’s top-tier Premier League, lost £90.1 million ($114.8 million) pre-tax in the 2022-23 financial year.
This does, while still a significant loss, actually represent an uptick in the club’s financial situation compared to the end of 2021-22, when the reported pre-tax loss was £121.4 million.
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The improvement is due to Chelsea reporting record revenues of £512.5 million for 2022-23, with both commercial (£210.1 million) and matchday income (£76.5) million) rising significantly.
The 2022-23 season was Chelsea's first under the ownership of the Clearlake Capital consortium, which took over the club in mid-2022 following the freezing of assets of previous owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, by the UK government.
These assets included Chelsea, meaning the club could not keep much of its revenue for the last portion of 2021-22.
That campaign – during which the club had to operate under a special government license in the final few months – saw total revenue of £481.3 million.
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By GlobalDataThe consortium, fronted by US businessman Todd Boehly, completed its protracted £4.25-billion purchase of Chelsea in May 2022.
Broadcast revenue fell year-on-year from £235 million in 2021-22 (when Chelsea finished third in the 20-team Premier League) to £225.9 million last year – when they finished in 12th.
These financials have been unveiled during a wider release of accounts by BlueCo 22 Limited, the Chelsea parent company set up by Clearlake Capital and Boehly.
Over the last three seasons for which accounts have been published – 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 – Chelsea have made an aggregate pre-tax loss of £367.1 million.
While Premier League regulations do only allow clubs to lose £105 million over a three-year period, there are various ways in which costs out of these losses can be deducted, and therefore not apply to profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
However, given that Chelsea’s 2023-24 accounts will include at least £400 million spent in outgoing transfer fees for players signed in recent transfer windows, the club is highly likely to face a challenge in being compliant with PSR in the near future.
Chelsea currently sit in 11th place in the league, lost the EFL Cup final to Liverpool last month, and look unlikely at this stage to qualify for any lucrative UEFA pan-European competition next season.
In recent weeks, both Liverpool and Arsenal – current Premier League title rivals – have unveiled their 2022-23 financial results.
Liverpool made a pre-tax loss of £9 million with revenue remaining static, while Arsenal lost £34 million.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa also made a heavy loss in 2022-23.
