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Chelsea are challenging Europe's top clubs on the balance sheet despite their failure to win the Champions League. Figures to be released in January are expected to show that the club's annual turnover has risen to about £200m, even though they did not retain the Premiership title last season. That could lead to Chelsea breaking into Europe's top five clubs in terms of revenue, rivalling Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and AC Milan. In September, Arsenal announced that they had become the first British club to exceed £200m in annual turnover. Arsenal's operating profit was £51m, however, while Chelsea lost £80m in the year ending June 2006. Chelsea's turnover was £75m in 2002-3, the season before Roman Abramovich bought the club. In 2005-6, it was £153m. Everton's chief executive Keith Wyness implied that Chelsea's wealth had driven costs up across the Barclays Premiership. He said, 'They've changed the whole business model in terms of the money that's been put into the Premier League.'
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