Champions Chelsea make £23.1m loss

Chelsea made a loss of £23.1m as they won the Premier League last season.

According to their annual financial results, the deficit kept them within Financial Fair Play (FFP) limits.

“It was a primary aim in the past financial year to be one of the clubs with a continuous record of meeting the regulations,” said chairman Bruce Buck.

The Blues, who made a record £18.4m profit last year, announced revenues of £314.3m, down on the 2013-14 high of £319.8m.

The club, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, expect revenues to improve again after a reported £40m-a-season shirt sponsorship deal.

“These will be powered by new commercial deals, including our record-breaking partnership with Yokohama,” added Buck.

“They’ll also be enhanced by revenues related to this season’s Champions League which improve due to entering as Premier League champions and an increase in TV revenue for English clubs.”

Uefa introduced FFP because it feared many clubs were risking their futures by spending beyond their means.

Meanwhile, Everton’s chief executive has blamed Liverpool City Council for a lack of progress on building a new stadium, saying the club “can’t do it on its own”.

Robert Elstone said the club needed the council to commit to investing in the project before it could go ahead.

Plans for a new ground at Walton Hall Park were announced in September 2014.

But Liverpool’s mayor said he had yet to receive any detailed proposals for the project.

Responding on Twitter, Joe Anderson wrote: “Re EFC, CEO comments at AGM that they are ready on stadium. I am looking forward to   receiving their planning and financial proposals tomorrow.”

In a statement he added: “This is a council that helped Everton by purchasing [training ground] Finch Farm. We’re trying to find a solution, so to say we’re not working in partnership is an insult.

“We’re still willing to talk but to say they haven’t got true partnership isn’t helpful.”

Elstone was speaking to shareholders at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall, and said without the local authority it would be hard to bring the “challenging funding project” to fruition.- BBC.