Chelsea Football Club finds itself under the watchful eyes of the Premier League due to potential breaches of financial regulations linked to their signings of Willian and Samuel Eto’o back in 2013, according to confirmed sources at ESPN.
This investigation comes in the wake of the club’s recent takeover by new owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who flagged numerous transactions to football’s governing bodies as part of the due diligence process during their acquisition in May.
In a previous incident, Chelsea was fined €10 million ($10.65 million) by UEFA in July. The penalty was imposed after Chelsea submitted incomplete financial information related to multiple deals that occurred between 2012 and 2019.
While the Premier League’s investigation is ongoing, sources have verified to ESPN that the transfers that brought Brazilian winger Willian and former Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o to Stamford Bridge are part of the scrutiny.
Willian joined Chelsea a decade ago in a last-minute transfer, as he was initially set to sign for Tottenham. During the same summer window, Eto’o arrived on a one-year contract. Both players made the move from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.
Currently, Willian plays for Fulham, another west London club, while Eto’o retired from professional football in 2019.
It’s worth noting that Chelsea underwent a change in ownership last year. The club’s former owner, Roman Abramovich, who had owned Chelsea since 2003, was compelled to sell it after being sanctioned by the UK government due to alleged ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea responded to these allegations with a statement, emphasizing that they pertain to the era before the club’s current ownership and involve entities purportedly controlled by the former owner. The club asserted that these matters do not involve any individuals currently associated with the team.
Chelsea’s new ownership group completed their acquisition of the club on May 30, 2022. During the diligent pre-purchase process, the ownership group identified potential issues of incomplete financial reporting related to past transactions under the club’s previous ownership.
In line with the ownership group’s commitment to full compliance and transparency, Chelsea proactively reported these concerns to football regulators after the acquisition’s completion.
The club has since cooperated with the relevant authorities in their investigations, adhering to its core principles of full compliance and transparency. Chelsea will continue to support the ongoing investigations to maintain integrity within the sport.
