Chelsea to swerve points deduction?! Blues in talks with Premier League to avoid sporting punishment in secret Roman Abramovich transfer payments case

According to The Times, Chelsea are seeking to agree a financial settlement on the basis that the new owners discovered the old payments during Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital's May 2022 takeover process and reported them to the Premier League and UEFA. The Blues have argued that the rule breaches, which occurred in 2012 and 2013, took place under former owner Abramovich and, therefore, a points deduction, or any other kind of punishment, is not necessary.

Chelsea were fined £8.6million ($10.7m) by UEFA in 2023 for illegal payments made to agents and players. The report adds that if the Blues avoid a points deduction, it could 'raise eyebrows' among fans of other clubs given Everton and Nottingham Forest received points deductions for financial fair play breaches.

The investigation into Chelsea centred around the signings of winger Willian and striker Samuel Eto'o from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2013, which involved payments to Russian entities that were separate to a transfer fee. The arrival of winger Eden Hazard from Lille a year earlier has also been investigated.

The report adds that the outcome of the negotiations between Chelsea and the Premier League is expected before the end of March 2025. The Blues are said to be 'confident' there can be a similar agreement to the £8.6m financial settlement they made with UEFA.