Chelsea reveal pre-tax $A174m loss under new owners

Chelsea have announced pre-tax losses of PS90.1million ($A174m) in the 12 months up to June 2023, their first full year under the ownership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium.

The figure, an improvement on the previous years’ loss of PS121.4m ($A234m), was also listed in the accounts filed for holding company Blueco, via which Boehly purchased the club from former owner Roman Abramovich in May 2022.

Blueco itself, which also owns French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, recorded losses of PS653m ($A1.3 bn) from its founding in March 2022 up to June 2023.

Chelsea’s turnover is up from PS481.3m ($A929m) in 2021/22 to PS512.5m ($A989m), thanks in part to player sales as the club has offloaded a substantial number of its more experienced squad members since Clearlake took ownership.

Broadcasting revenue has been hit by the team’s failure to qualify for European competition last season.

Premier League rules state a club can have made a loss no greater than PS105m ($A203m) over a three-year period, meaning there are likely to be further player sales required in the coming months in order to remain within regulations, particularly with qualification for Europe via their league position looking unlikely this campaign.

Chelsea could have qualified via the Football League Cup but lost the final to Liverpool last month.