Chelsea ‘in talks with the Premier League to agree financial settlement for secret payments allegedly made to agents during Roman Abramovich era – with the Blues confident of avoiding a points deduction’

Chelsea are in negotiations with the Premier League over a financial settlement for potential financial breaches during Roman Abramovich‘s ownership of the club, according to a report. 

Russian-Israeli oligarch Abramovich, 57, owned the Blues between 2003 and 2022, until he was sanctioned by the UK government and disqualified as a director of the club by the top flight after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

When the Todd Boehly-led consortium purchased Chelsea in May 2022, they self-reported historical cases of incomplete financial information during Abramovich’s tenure.

The Guardian and Bureau of Investigative Journalism later reported that leaked documents showed how Abramovich allegedly used offshore companies to make transactions to agents and associates, which appeared to benefit Chelsea.

These alleged payments were said to be worth tens of millions of pounds and could therefore have breached financial rules if not officially declared.

Punishment for the offence could have seen the Blues hit with a points deduction but, according to The Times, the club are working on a financial settlement with the Premier League. 

The outlet claim that he outcome of the talks is expected before the end of March, with the club ‘confident’ of reaching their desired outcome. 

Chelsea’s owners reported themselves to UEFA and the Premier League when they discovered these payments, and in July 2023, UEFA fined the Blues €10m (£8.6m) for ‘submitting incomplete financial information’ between 2012 and 2019.

The new Stamford Bridge chiefs made the submissions after flagging concerns over a number of previous transactions they uncovered during the takeover process.

Last year, former Chelsea chief executive Marina Granovskaia was questioned over what she knew about the secret payments allegedly made under the ownership of Abramovich.

According to The Guardian, the documents appeared to show that Granovskaia was made aware of the payment to Hazard’s agent, John Bico, as well as fees related to the transfers of Willian and Samuel Eto’o to Chelsea.

Mail Sport reported in 2023 how payments made by Chelsea to the father of Denmark defender Andreas Christensen, signed from Brondby in 2012, were expected to form part of the investigation.

They were made public by Danish newspaper Politiken in 2018, which – as part of the ‘Football Leaks’ cache of documents – claimed the club employed Sten Christensen as a scout on the day they concluded a deal for his son, and subsequently paid him more than £650,000 over four years while he was still employed as a goalkeeping coach at Brondby.

In August, Premier League CEO Richard Masters provided an update on the probe when questioned by talkSPORT ahead of the Premier League season getting underway.

‘What we’re talking about is something historic,’ he said. ‘It’s complicated where we have the club talking to us about things that have happened under a previous ownership.

‘All I can say is that investigation is reaching a conclusion. But until it has done so, I can’t really say what is going to happen next.’

Speaking back in 2023 after the Guardian and Bureau of Investigative Journalism claims, a Chelsea spokesperson said: ‘These allegations pre-date the club’s current ownership. They are based on documents which the club has not been shown and do not relate to any individual who is presently at the club.

‘(During the purchase of the club the current owners become aware of) potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions during the club’s previous ownership.

‘Immediately following the completion of the purchase, the club proactively self-reported these matters to all applicable football regulators.

In accordance with the club’s ownership group’s core principles of full compliance and transparency the club has proactively assisted the applicable regulators with their investigations and will continue to do so.’