Chelsea paid £28m to replace Carlo Ancelotti with Andre Villas-Boas

Chelsea paid £28 million in total for the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti and appointment of Andre Villas-Boas as manager last summer, according to the club's accounts.

The total sum went to compensating the Italian and his staff, just a year after winning the Premier League and the FA Cup, and to Porto, in order to acquire Villas-Boas.

Chelsea reported reduced losses for the last fiscal year, saving £3.2m from the £70.9m the club posted twelve months earlier. Revenues were also more positive, increasing from £205.8m to £222.3m.

These numbers become more significant this year with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play [FPP] being implemented for the first time.

Under the new regulations, a club competing in a European competition is only permitted to lose a maximum of €45m [£39.5m] over two seasons, before dropping down to €30 million [£25m].

However, Uefa will not begin examining accounts until 2013-14, with possible sanctions coming into play the following term.

Following losses of £67.7m in 2011, the club's finances for next season are expected to also be in the red, as the Londoners have since spent approximately £65m on signings, including Juan Mata, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Raul Meireles.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck spoke of the club's finances last week, saying "The club is focused on complying with the requirements of Uefa's financial fair play regulations while maintaining its ability to challenge for major trophies. We would expect this to be reflected in our results for the current financial year."