Chelsea news: Stefan Borson drops update on £175m off-field deal
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Chelsea's sale of their women's team is unlikely to be rejected by the Premier League despite reportedly not yet being assessed for fair market value.
That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the west London club believe the deal should be worth between £150-£175million.
Chelsea's latest published accounts revealed they sold two Stamford Bridge hotels to BlueCo 22 Limited – their immediate parent company – in 2023 for a total of £76.5million.
That meant their losses fell from potentially as high as £166.4million to £89.9million for the 2022-23 financial year alone, with the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) stating top-flight clubs can lose a maximum of £105million over a rolling three-year period.
The London giants are believed to have been close to the spending limit again last season, but the Premier League didn't hand out charges to any clubs.
In a further attempt to offset their major losses, Chelsea sold their women's team to BlueCo in June last year.
The Guardian reported on 12 January that sale has not yet been assessed for fair market value by the Premier League.
Chelsea to highlight Angel City FC sale to Premier League
Borson revealed Chelsea will have pointed to the recent £204million sale of NWSL side Angel City FC in a bid to see their valuation approved.
He told Football Insider: "The women's team sale is a more complicated transaction than the hotels because it's a more subjective valuation.
"You would expect those exchanges between the league and the club to take some time to resolve, so it's not a surprise that it's not been resolved within six months.
"We know from the APT Man City hearing of the sorts of timescales that these things can take, and the sorts of processes that people go into.
"The bottom line is that it takes time for them to clear it. I wouldn't imagine they will have cleared it for some months.
"It means that the accounts Chelsea produce will be subject to a similar sort of proviso that they had in last year, where they said 'This is the profit that we think we have got from the hotels, but they have not yet been approved for fair value, so that is subject to change'. It will probably say something similar.
“But we know that the number they were going for was very significant, probably in the order of £150-£175million. I assume they will have pointed to the sale of the US women's team Angel City FC, who have a high valuation.
“Chelsea would argue that they are the most valuable women's team in the world and, therefore, their value is defendable. I wouldn't expect it to be rejected now. That would be very surprising.
"I think the combination of property sales and the women's team for well over £200million would have got them through this current cycle."
In other news, Renato Veiga sends cryptic message to Chelsea fans after exit whispers.
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