Since last summer's transfer window, Chelsea have spent more than €600 million, including 14 formal signings and two on loan. During that time, they earned just €65 million from player sales.
This means Chelsea's net spending in 2022-2023 will reach nearly 600 million Euros. More notably, The Blues have completely changed the apparatus from owners, managers, chairmen, drafting directors...
Chelsea now have some similarities with Real Madrid in 2009. Florentino Perez returns to his second term as president, along with new coach Manuel Pellegrini. Most importantly, there are 8 new contracts, including Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol and Cristiano Ronaldo. Total spending is 258.5 million Euros and net spending is 170 million Euros.
Chelsea's spending is far exceeding those figures, but it should be remembered that 14 years ago, the revenue of most top clubs was only half that of today.
"Move fast and break everything," this was once the development motto of billionaire Mark Zuckerberg. And now, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are applying that at Chelsea.
Effectiveness on the field
Chelsea's summer transfer window is a combination of players with high prices (in terms of transfer fees and salaries) - Raheem Sterling, kalidou Koulibaly, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. In addition, there are talented young players such as Wesley Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka and Gabriel Slonina. The recruitment department inherited from Roman Abramovich was fired, Boehly was forced to play the role of sporting director.
However, Chelsea's January transfer window was completely different. All are aged 22 and under (except for Joao Felix, 23 years old). It can be said that these are Chelsea's futures, long-term contracts.
Chelsea are currently 10th in the Premier League table, mainly due to injuries and difficulties in the transition from Tuchel to the successor Graham Potter. So, after January, will Chelsea have enough strength to turn the situation around?
Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernandez and Mikhaylo Mudryk can compete for playing time, but it is difficult to make an immediate impact.
They do not have much experience and have to adapt to a new tournament. Therefore, the prospect of Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League next season is still relatively fragile.
Finance
Chelsea face financial sustainability regulations. And above all, Chelsea's owners want to see their profitability and asset value increase. They spent £2.5 billion to buy the club and have vowed to add £1.75 billion over the next decade.
For now, think about the £1.75 billion in the future, how can Todd Boehly earn the £2.5 billion he has invested in?
Chelsea have been operating at a loss for the past 10 years, and player trading has been in a similar situation. New owners may redevelop the stadium, which will bring in more revenue. Eghbali will find new plans to make money from assets but it is not an easy problem.
For assets to increase over time and sell at many times the amount of money invested, the prospect is possible for Chelsea. However, it should be remembered that Liverpool - a team that does not need to renovate the stadium, has a larger global fan base and a longer-standing brand, and is only valued at 3 billion USD.
There is a higher risk when many investors hold Chelsea and they can withdraw when they do not achieve their goals. In short, the Chelsea owner took the risk to quickly reap success.
