Premier League clubs angered by Uefa release of financial details without warning

Premier League clubs are unhappy with Uefa’s decision to reveal details of their financial results before some have been published and without warning.

Chelsea’s record pre-tax loss of £355m last season formed a key part of Uefa’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report, which was presented by its executive director, Andrea Traverso, at the Financial Times’s Business of Football Summit on Thursday, with the losses incurred by Tottenham and Aston Villa also featuring prominently.

The issue is understood to have been discussed by Premier League representatives at Friday’s Champions League draw in Nyon, where there was agreement that Uefa had failed to keep them informed.

None of the clubs were briefed about Uefa’s plans, leaving Chelsea in particular frustrated at being given no time to prepare for questions on their results. The club are not planning to publish their 2024-25 accounts until the end of March.

Chelsea, while not contesting the £355m loss, which is based on information they provided to Uefa, insist the headline figure does not reflect the economic reality.

Club sources have disclosed that the record loss reflects non-cash accounting adjustments required by Uefa’s financial sustainability regulations, specifically one-off transactions related to player contract and asset write-offs, and that they are profitable on an operational basis.

Chelsea were fined £27m by Uefa last summer for breaching its spending restrictions and ordered to submit to a business plan, but are confident of avoiding another sanction. As part of that settlement agreement Chelsea were permitted to continue running at a substantial loss, as long as it remained in line with “the projected deficit submitted in the business plan”.