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The Football Association has charged Chelsea with breaking rules around transfers, specifically regarding the payment of agents and third-party ownership of players.
In a statement, the FA said: "The Football Association has today charged Chelsea FC with breaches of Regulations J1 and C2 of The FA Football Agents Regulations, Regulations A2 and A3 of The FA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries, and Regulations A1 and B3 of The FA Third Party Investment in Players Regulations. In total, 74 charges have been brought against Chelsea FC.
"The conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010/11 to 2015/16 playing seasons. Chelsea FC has until 19 September 2025 to respond."
Despite having previously self-reported some payments from the Roman Abramovich era, Chelsea could face a fine or even a points deduction by the Premier League if such payments were not registered as part of the club's original annual financial reporting.
In response, Chelsea stated: "Chelsea FC is pleased to confirm that its engagement with The FA concerning matters that were self-reported by the club is now reaching a conclusion.
"The club's ownership group completed its purchase of the club on 30 May 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules.
"Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including The FA.
"The club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the club's files and historical data.
"We will continue working collaboratively with The FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible.
"We wish to place on record our gratitude to The FA for their engagement with the club on this complex case, the focus of which has been on matters that took place over a decade ago."
Abramovich acquired Chelsea for $189 million in 2003 and presided over an era of triumph that delivered five Premier League crowns and two Champions League victories before being compelled to offload the club to a consortium spearheaded by Todd Boehly in May 2022 following sanctions imposed by the UK government in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea had previously been hit with an $11.6 million penalty by UEFA for providing "incomplete financial information" between 2012 and 2019.
In 2023, leaked documents suggested that Chelsea were alleged to have utilised offshore accounts linked to Abramovich to make payments amounting to tens of millions of pounds over a decade.
They were also accused of making a series of other covert payments which could have violated financial fair play and accounting regulations.
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