REVENUE REALITY CHECK: HOW CHELSEA FELL £235M BEHIND MANCHESTER CITY’S FINANCIAL LEAD
Chelsea's £511M revenue vs City's £746M: Discover the truth behind the Blues' massive operating costs and wage bill surge today.
Uefa’s numbers make it pretty clear: Chelsea’s overall revenue trails behind some of their biggest Premier League rivals. Last year, the Blues brought in £511 million. Compare that to Manchester City’s £746 million or Liverpool’s £744 million, and you see the gap.
So, where’s Chelsea falling short? Let’s start with ticket sales. Even though their ticket income ranks ninth in Europe, it’s still £28 million less than Liverpool’s, who sit just ahead of them. On average, Chelsea made £1.2 million less per matchday than Liverpool, too. The main reason? Stamford Bridge just doesn’t hold as many fans. With a capacity of 41,798, it’s only the 11th biggest stadium in the Premier League. That’s tiny next to Old Trafford, which can seat 34,000 more people.
Commercial revenue is another weak spot. Chelsea pulled in £207 million from sponsorships and partnerships last year, putting them 11th in Europe. That’s £5 million less than the year before, and it leaves them £66 million behind Tottenham and a whopping £165 million behind Manchester City, who lead the pack in England.
Merchandising and kit sales aren’t much better. Chelsea made £83 million from shirts and other merchandise, no gain from the previous year. That’s £46 million less than Spurs and £82 million less than Manchester United, who top the list.
One area where Chelsea did stand out was broadcast revenue. Their run in the FIFA Club World Cup helped boost them to £192 million in TV income, second only to Manchester City in Europe.
But then there’s the spending. Chelsea’s wage bill hit £388 million, the sixth-highest in Europe and £43 million more than the year before. Only Liverpool and Manchester City spent more on player wages in England, with Liverpool’s total pushed up by bonuses for winning the Premier League.
The club employs more full-time staff (excluding players) than anyone else in England: 1,169 people. Operating costs like utilities, transport, insurance, marketing, and admin shot up to £240 million from £159 million, putting Chelsea fifth in Europe for these expenses.
And then there’s the cost of assembling the team. UEFA calls Chelsea’s squad the most expensive in football history, valued at £1.52 billion, up 5% from the year before. To manage these huge transfer outlays, Chelsea signs many players to long-term contracts, spreading the cost over several years to ease the hit on annual accounts.
But UEFA points out that this strategy is hitting English clubs’ profits. Those deferred transfer payments, which accountants call amortisation, keep piling up as costs on the books each year, making losses even worse.
The report doesn’t spell out exactly where the losses come from, but the clues are all there.
WHY CHELSEA ARE BETTING ON LIAM DELAP’S LONG-TERM STAMFORD BRIDGE FUTURE
Not for sale: Discover why Chelsea is blocking Everton's move for Liam Delap and Rosenior's plans for the Arsenal derby.
Chelsea have some thinking to do about Liam Delap’s future at Stamford Bridge this summer. They really don’t want to let him go, even though Everton are sniffing around, according to Football Insider. The club just isn’t interested in selling; they want Delap around for next season. He’s signed until June 2031, so there’s no rush.
Right now, Chelsea sits fifth in the Premier League after 27 games. They’re just ahead of Liverpool on goal difference. Last time out, they drew 1-1 at home with Burnley. Not exactly the result they wanted.
Chelsea only picked up Delap from Ipswich Town last year. He was brought in to give their attack a boost, add some competition, and deepen the squad up front. The 23-year-old has played 25 times in all competitions this season, with 18 league appearances. He’s only managed two goals and four assists so far – not exactly lighting it up – but there’s still time for him to find his feet.
Delap’s taken the long road already. He started at Derby County, then joined Manchester City’s youth setup in 2019. He only made six first-team appearances for City, but he got loan moves to Stoke, Preston, and Hull in the Championship to toughen up and get more minutes. Ipswich signed him permanently in 2024, and then Chelsea came calling.
So, what’s next after that frustrating draw with Burnley? Chelsea have to head to the Emirates to face Arsenal this weekend. After the Burnley game, Liam Rosenior didn’t mince words. He said, “We’ve basically thrown away four points in two home games. That’s not good enough for a club like this. It’s not enough to just play well; we have to win. I know what needs to change, and we’ll work on it this week. Every game is an inquest, win or lose. I’m learning which players you can rely on when things get tough, and we need to fix that fast.”
WHY WESLEY FOFANA BELIEVES FOOTBALL’S ANTI-RACISM CAMPAIGNS ARE FAILING IN 2026
Football faces a crisis. Discover why Wesley Fofana and Hannibal Mejbri are demanding action after a weekend of racist abuse.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana didn’t hold back after he and Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri were hit with racist abuse following Saturday’s 1-1 draw. “Nothing changes,” he wrote. “People are never punished.” Both players shared screenshots of the nasty messages sent to them on Instagram, just hours after the match at Stamford Bridge.
This all happened only days after UEFA started looking into Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior’s claims that Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him during a Champions League game in Lisbon. That match had to be stopped for ten minutes after Vinicius, clearly shaken, refused to play on. Prestianni tried to cover his mouth with his shirt during the incident, but the damage was already done.
Back to Saturday night, Fofana, who’d been sent off late in the game for two yellow cards, posted some of the abuse he received and didn’t mince words: “2026, it’s still the same thing. These people are never punished. You create big campaigns against racism, but nobody actually does anything.” Mejbri also shared the messages he got, adding, “It’s 2026, and there are still people like that. Educate yourself and your kids, please.”
Chelsea responded quickly, calling the abuse “completely unacceptable” and saying it goes against everything the club stands for. “There is no room for racism,” they said. “We stand unequivocally with Wes. He has our full support, as do all our players who are too often forced to endure this hatred simply for doing their job. We will work with the authorities and platforms to find the people responsible and take the strongest action.”
Burnley echoed the sentiment: “There is no place for this in our society, and we condemn it unreservedly.”
Football’s handling of racism has been under the microscope lately, especially after what happened in Lisbon. Benfica manager Jose Mourinho stirred things up further by accusing Vinicius of provoking the incident, while the Portuguese club claimed their player was the victim of a defamation campaign.
As for the game itself, Chelsea looked set for a win until Burnley’s Zian Flemming headed in a stoppage-time equaliser, right after Fofana’s red card left Chelsea down a man. Fofana was sent off in the 72nd minute for a late challenge on James Ward-Prowse. Earlier, Joao Pedro’s fourth-minute goal seemed to put Liam Rosenior’s side on track for victory, but like so many times this season, they couldn’t finish off Scott Parker’s struggling team. The match ended all square, but the bigger story was what happened off the pitch.
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