Chelsea have announced a net loss of £70.6m for the financial year ending June 30th, 2016, with the deficit born of the Premier League leaders’ decision to buy out their existing kit deal with Adidas and the compensation paid to Jose Mourinho following his sacking last December.
The club registered a record turnover of £329.1m, up 5 per cent on the previous year’s £314.3m, and yet their overall profit of £4.7m was eclipsed when exceptional costs were taken into account.
Mourinho and his coaching staff were dismissed just a few months after signing new terms, with the team struggling near the fringes of the relegation zone, and considerable compensation was due to Adidas for the early termination of that contract.
Despite the lack of Champions League football this season following a 10th-place finish in 2015-16, next year’s figures will be boosted by the record £60m-a-season deal since signed with Nike, together with increased revenues from Premier League broadcast deals.
Meanwhile, Antonio Conte has admitted the money-flushed Chinese Super League represents “a danger” to clubs across Europe’s elite leagues as Chelsea prepare to confirm the departure of Oscar to Shanghai SIPG in a deal potentially worth £60m.
The Brazil international has played his last game for the Premier League leaders, who will attempt to equal a club record 11 successive wins when they visit Crystal Palace on Saturday, as he closes in on a £350,000-a-week contract with Andre Villas-Boas’s team.
Chelsea accepted Shanghai SIPG’s bid earlier this week for the 25-year-old, who was at Cobham yesterday but has told team-mates he is leaving – but only after talks between the board and the manager, with Conte reluctantly giving the move the green light.
Oscar, who started Conte’s first five league games in charge, had been reduced to a bit-part role over recent weeks and has effectively become a squad player at Stamford Bridge.
However, the departure for China of a player with his best years potentially still ahead of him reflects the newfound clout of the Super League. “The Chinese market is a danger for all,” said Conte, who has Eden Hazard fit again for the match at Selhurst Park.
“Not only for Chelsea but all the teams in the world. But I think we must concentrate on our work, not think that in China there is a lot of money and they can arrive to take the players there.
“I think this [Englishleague is fantastic. To play in this league is a great opportunity, an honour. You must be very proud to play in this league because now it’s the best league in the world to play. For this reason, I don’t worry about this [becoming a regular occurrence].”
The Brazil international will follow his compatriot and former Chelsea team-mate Ramires in leaving for China, with the latter sold to Jiangsu Suning last January in a deal worth in excess of £20m and more than £200,000 a week to the player. The deal for Oscar would become the London club’s record sale - eclipsing David Luiz’s transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2014, which had the potential to rise to £50m – with their willingness to do business with Shanghai SIPG reflective of the massive offer on the table.
“When there are incredible situations, it’s very difficult to manage this,” said Conte, whose instinct had been to retain the player. “Very difficult – and every player must decide his own future. But my style is to take always the decision together with the club and to understand also some strange situations, some massive offers. I talked to the board and explained my thoughts.
“Sometimes it’s important also to be ‘linked’ with the club to take the best decision, to understand sometimes if the situation can penalise you. But you have to take the best decision for the club. There are situations that are amazing and it’s very difficult to try to solve the situation in the best way.”
Guardian service
