Chelsea have been found guilty of breaching English Premier League rules after the governing body detected secret payments made by the club between 2011 and 2018 under the ownership of Roman Abramovich. As a result, the Blues received a fine of £10.75 million, along with a one-year transfer ban, on March 16.
The secret transactions came into the spotlight during the due diligence process after the club was purchased by new American owners in 2022. The club hierarchy reported the irregularities to the Premier League, UEFA, and the FA.
Besides that, Liam Rosenior's side has also received a nine-month academy transfer ban. This ban will have an immediate effect on the club’s ability to transfer players currently serving in their academy. The suspension is a result of multiple offences between 2019 and 2022.
Players named in the Premier League report over Chelsea's transfer ban
In the Premier League report, the names of several former Chelsea stars were included, which related to secret payments. The players named in the report are Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle, and Nemanja Matic.
Eden Hazard joined the Premier League heavyweights from French club LOSC Lille in 2012 on a deal worth £32 million. He played 245 games for the London club and won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, and one League Cup.
Samuel Eto’o joined the London giants from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013 on a one-year contract for £7 million. He only made 21 appearances in the Premier League and scored nine goals and chipped in with two assists.
Besides that, Chelsea also signed Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013 on a five-year deal worth £35 million. He played 234 games for the London club in the Premier League and won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, and one League Cup.
The West London club brought in Ramires from Portuguese side SL Benfica on a four-year deal worth £17 million. Ramires made 159 appearances for the Blues and won the Premier League title, FA Cup, and League Cup.
The Blues also signed Ramires’ teammate at Benfica, David Luiz, on a contract worth £21.3 million. He represented the London club 160 times and won the Premier League title and the FA Cup. Besides that, Luiz was re-signed by Chelsea in 2016 from French giants PSG on a deal worth £34 million.
Andre Schurrle joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013, on a five-year deal worth £18 million. He played 44 games for Chelsea in the league and scored 11 goals and provided 2 assists. He also won the Premier League trophy and the League Cup.
The Blues first signed Nemanja Matic in 2009 from Slovakian club MFK Kosice on a deal worth £1.5 million. They later re-signed him again in 2014 from the Portuguese side Benfica for a fee of £21 million. During his two spells at the London club, he made 123 appearances and won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, and one League Cup.
The Premier League report also suggests that these players are not involved in any wrongdoing and also retracted the names of four players from the original list. However, the £10.75 million fine and a one-year transfer ban will potentially hamper Chelsea’s plans for the future.
