Premier League leaders Chelsea have announced a profit of £18.4 million for the year ending June 30 2014, the largest since Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich took over the club 11 years ago.
The announcement on the club’s website on Thursday said there was also a record turnover of £319.8 million.
But although transfer receipts of around £87 million from the sale of Juan Mata to Manchester United and David Luiz to Paris St Germain in that period are included, outgoings of more than £60 million on Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa in July are not.
It does mean, however, that Chelsea can claim to be within UEFA’s Financial Fair Play criteria.
“By reaching the Champions League semi-final and maintaining a challenge in the Premier League until the final week of the season we demonstrated that, while improving our financial figures, we remained competitive in football’s toughest club competitions,” chairman Bruce Buck said.
“In the era of FFP, we must progress commercially to continue the circle of success to invest in the team and get results.” The club has admitted in the past that increasing match-day income will be difficult unless they can move from Stamford Bridge or increase the ground capacity.
