Point Deduction? EPL To Probe Chelsea’s Willian And Eto’s Transfer Deal 

The signing of Willian and Samuel Eto’o is expected to be part of a Premier League (EPL) probe of Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich tenure.

According to The Times, the investigation is focused on Chelsea’s “secret transfer-related” payments made by the Blues between 2003 and 2022 when Abramovich was a player. Among other things, the investigation will examine the financial dealings of the two, who signed in August 2013 from Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. Ten years ago, Brazilian winger Willian paid £30 million to join the Stamford Bridge team, while former Barcelona striker Eto’o also made the move during the same transfer window. Furthermore, according to the investigation, financial records suggest that payments to “Russian entities” might have been made independently of any transfer fees. The payments were discovered during Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium’s due diligence investigation when they were purchasing the team from Abramovich in 2022.

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The alleged payments, which are reportedly in the seven figure range, do not appear to have been registered as part of the club’s annual financial reporting to the FA, Premier League, and UEFA, which would be in violation of their regulations. However, Chelsea’s current ownership has made it clear that this is something that predates them. The Blues and UEFA have previously reached a settlement agreement for €10 million (£8.57 million) to cover violations of the Financial Fair Play regulations. However, they may face additional penalties, such as a transfer restriction or a reduction in points.

According to the source, Chelsea’s former chairman Bruce Buck and former director Marina Granovskaia, who were both influential individuals under Abramovich, may be questioned as part of the EPL inquiry. The Blues will simply have to bide their time till this probe is over.