London (AFP)
The Chelsea club published on Tuesday a loss of 96 million pounds (113 million EUR) in the 2018/2019 financial year, a quarter of which is attributable to the dismissal of Antonio Conte, despite significant financial support from its owner Roman Abramovitch .
The 50-year-old coach, who is now at Inter Milan, still had a year of contract when he was dismissed in July 2018.
In his first year, he won the last title of champion of the Londoners, and in the second, he won the English Cup but finished the championship in 5th place and therefore without qualification for the Champions League.
The club included in its accounts for the financial year ending end of June 2019 "exceptional items of 26.6 M GBP in connection with changes in the staff of the men's team, as well as the associated legal costs" , is it indicated.
This brings the Blues' miscellaneous expenses for their thanked coaches and staff to GBP 90 million (EUR 106 million) since Roman Abramovitch joined the club in 2004.
Conte had been replaced by Maurizio Sarri who himself left the club a year later to join Juventus.
The loss is also explained by the GBP 28.6 million (EUR 33 million) invested by the club on the transfer market to secure the services in particular of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, circles Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, as well as attacker Christian Pulisic, who signed up in January 2018, just before a recruitment ban that ultimately only covered the transfer window last summer.
The amount of losses was however mitigated by the payment of 247 M GBP (291 M EUR) by the Russian billionaire, sometimes described as tired by his club and inclined to withdraw.
Chelsea having been able to spend nothing this summer, having a priori no intention of splurging this winter and having not yet included in its accounts the transfer of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid for 100 M EUR, the next exercise, also boosted by the qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League, should logically be much more favorable.
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