Transfer Centre

Premier League clubs 'vote to close transfer loophole exploited by Chelsea'

By Andrew Delaney, Reporter | 12 December 2023

Chelsea are one of 15 Premier League clubs to vote in favour of closing the loophole they have exploited, in spreading transfer fees over the duration of long contracts.

Premier League clubs have voted in favour of limiting the amortisation of new contacts to a maximum of five years.

The financial tactic has been seen as a loophole, exploited predominantly by Chelsea, in which they have been able to spend vast sums of money on players, but spreading the payment across a number of years.

Chelsea first optimised the loophole when signing Benoit Badiashile in January, and many of their signings since have been signed on contracts of up to eight years, including Enzo Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson and Moises Caicedo.

As an example, Caicedo's transfer, which was worth £115m, will be spread across the eight years of the contract offered to him by Chelsea, meaning that the club will only technically pay £14.4m for him per year.

Since Todd Boehly's takeover, Chelsea have spent over £1bn on transfer fees in just two transfer windows, but the loophole has allowed them to avoid any Financial Fair Play or Profitability and Sustainability breaches.

One surprising fact from the vote that was put forward is that Chelsea were one of the 15 clubs who voted in favour of closing the loophole.

Moises Caicedo signs for Chelsea on August 14, 2023 © Chelsea FC

The Premier League put the topic forward in order to fall in line with UEFA, who themselves closed the loophole in June, and now the English top flight have followed suit.

Players will still be allowed to be signed on contracts of longer than five years, but clubs will no longer be able to spread the cost of the transfer over a period longer than that.

Among the five clubs who did not vote in favour, two voted against the block coming in, while a further three abstained.

A statement from the Premier League following the vote read: "Premier League Shareholders today agreed to amend the rule on amortisation of player registration costs to bring in line with UEFA's regulations. Going forward, a five-year maximum will apply to all new or extended player contracts."

One potential headache for Chelsea has been averted too, as the rule will not be backdated, meaning that any previous dealing will be allowed to happen as initially planned.

Had the ruling been backdated, then Chelsea would have almost certainly been in breach of FFP or SPR, but those worries have been eradicated.

Mauricio Pochettino called for more incomings to his Chelsea squad following their defeat at Everton on Sunday, but they will have to be wiser with their spending now, given the new ruling.