Alejandro Garnacho is swapping Stamford Bridge for Villa Park just hours after Chelsea made Morgan Rogers the most expensive British footballer in history. The Argentinian forward, who never quite found his feet at Chelsea and leaves after just one season, will join Aston Villa on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.
The move came on the same day the Blues agreed to pay £117m to sign Rogers from Villa, a deal that set the pace for the summer window. But the real story is how Chelsea, carrying debts of more than £1bn across their parent company and a Premier League record loss of £262m in their most recent accounts, can keep spending.
“Chelsea sign Morgan Rogers for £117m record, loan Alejandro Garnacho to Aston Villa amid huge debts.”
Chelsea’s financial position has improved since last summer, when they were handed a £26.7m fine and placed under a four-year settlement agreement with Uefa. They sold about £300m worth of players last season – a Premier League record – and expect to generate a similar figure this time. The club have already raised more than £120m through player sales and spent between £164m and £210m, depending on how pre-contract signings are counted.
Their squad value, according to Transfermarkt, stands at £1.3bn – behind only Manchester City in the Premier League and fourth-highest in Europe. Chelsea see the stockpiling of players as an investment they can cash in on when needed.
Maguire, a football finance analyst, explained the club’s approach: “85% is their PSR compliance with the Premier League but that does give them a slight advantage. If you look at the small print of the Premier League’s SCR rules, you can spend up to 115% of revenue on your player costs because that takes you up to what we refer to as the red zone. Provided you’re in the red zone and don’t go beyond it, you still end up effectively paying a tax on additional costs, rather than having a points deduction.”
Despite the eye-watering liabilities, sources close to the ownership group insist the investment model – which makes use of third-party loan providers – is highly structured, common among elite sports organisations and focused on long-term sustainability. They also project a big increase in revenue in their next set of accounts to a club record £700m.
With Rogers on a six-year contract and Garnacho heading out, Chelsea’s summer business is far from finished. But the question of how much longer they can balance the books while stockpiling talent remains unanswered.
