Chelsea fined £10.75m and handed suspended transfer ban over secret payments breaching Premier League rules
AFNEWS reporter
Mar 16, 2026
Chelsea fined £10.75m and handed suspended transfer ban over secret payments breaching Premier League rules
The Premier League has been investigating secret payments that were made by Chelsea between 2011 and 2018 when Roman Abramovich owned the London club; the transactions came to light during the due diligence process when the new American owners bought the club in 2022
Chelsea have been fined £10.75m and handed a one-year transfer ban suspended for two years.
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The Premier League's sanction agreement shows Chelsea made secret payments totalling £47.5m to agents and other individuals between 2011 and 2018, when Roman Abramovich was owner.
Chelsea have also been given a nine-month academy transfer ban with immediate effect relating to the club's registration of youth players between 2019 and 2022.
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The investigation determined these payments "occured with the knowledge and approval" of former senior employees and/or directors, the sanction agreement shows.
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The transactions came to light during the due diligence process when the new American owners bought the club in 2022. They self-reported the irregularities to the Premier League, the FA and UEFA.
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The Premier League said Chelsea's "proactive self-reporting" and "exceptional co-operation" throughout the investigation acted as significant mitigating factors when mulling over potential sanctions.
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Chelsea "accept the terms of the settlement in full" and welcomed the Premier League's acknowledgment of their help in the investigation.
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Chelsea were fined ┬ú8.64m [Ôé¼10m] by UEFA in July 2023 for incomplete financial reporting by the previous owners in 2018 and 2019.
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At least six suspect payments to offshore companies connected to transfers were identified.
The seven-figure payments were not in accounts that the club submitted to the football authorities at the time.
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The transfers investigated are believed to include the moves of Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o and Andreas Christiansen.
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Clubs have to provide the FA and Premier League accurate financial information every year. The same applies for UEFA and clubs playing in their competitions.
UEFA's five-year statute of limitations means they could only investigate breaches going back to 2017/18. The Premier League does not have a statute of limitations.
Why is Chelsea's transfer ban suspended?
"This is all to do with payments that were made off the books to people connected with transfers under Chelsea's previous ownership.
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"The seven-figure payments were not in the accounts the club submitted to the football authorities at the time.
"All clubs have to provide the FA and Premier League with accurate financial information each year and UEFA if they are playing in their competitions.
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"If Chelsea's previous owners were making these secret payments off the books, the financial information they were supplying was not complete.
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"Chelsea will still be able to sign players in the summer and next winter window - as long as they don't do anything wrong.
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"I think the reason this ban is suspended is because these irregularities were self-reported by the club's new owners."
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— AFNEWS reporter