Chelsea FC Financial results 01/2005

Chelsea, or rather Roman Abramovich, have paid a high price for their likely Premiership crown. The club lost £87.8m in the year to June 2004, compared with £26.5m the year before. Turnover at the club increased 40 per cent from £108.6m to £152.1m, driven by increased gate receipts and merchandise sales. It is intended to cut the wage bill to 55 per cent of sales from its current 76 per cent. Chelsea’s wage bill is around £115m, compared with just £5m for West Bromwich Albion at the bottom of the table. The club’s financial position will be helped by its new eight year shirt deal with Adidas, worth £12m a year.