Chelsea's Transfer Factory: From Mocked Madness to Booming Business

Ever since American businessman Todd Boehly bought Chelsea, there has been a frequent debate among football fans about their transfer operations.

Boehly has certainly invested his millions into the club over the last few years. The Blues have spent well over £1 billion on transfers since May 2022. They have even spent over £100 million each on two players, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.

Financial Fair Play Concerns

This has led many to suggest how on earth they are able to satisfy Premier League Financial Fair Play Rules. The trick is that they are buying players on lengthy contracts. This means that huge transfer fees are being spread across multiple seasons, which balances the books.

It also happens to be handy when buying players and selling them on for a profit. With longer contract durations, it means that Chelsea can let their talents develop and increase their market price over time. This can also satisfy their FFP for future seasons.

Business is now paying off?

After a few seasons of being mocked by football experts, Chelsea's bombastic transfer policy is now seemingly paying off, albeit slowly.

Some of their signings over the past few seasons are now beginning to be sold for decent profits, including the recent sale of Djordje Petrovic to Bournemouth.

Chelsea are utilising loan deals to put their player's on the shop window, when they cannot give them game time.

This could be seen as an indication that their transfer policy could be efficient in the long-term.

Djordje Petrovic

Chelsea bought the Serbian Goalkeeper from MLS club New England Revolution for an estimated £14 million. He made 23 appearances for Chelsea in the 2023/24 season and then spent the duration of the 2024-25 season at French side Strasbourg. He was awarded player of the season at Strasbourg which attracted interest from multiple clubs this transfer window. It was Bournemouth who ended up landing the Serb, for a reported £25 million.

Therefore, Chelsea gained a profit of £11 million from the deal.

Renato Veiga

The young Portuguese centre-back was bought from FC Basel in the summer transfer window of 2023/24. Veiga was certainly one for the future for Chelsea, as when he had arrived at the club he had only a season and half of professional experience. According to Transfermarkt, Veiga set Chelsea back a reported €14 million.

He has since made 7 appearances for Chelsea and spent the latter half of last season on loan at Juventus.

Although he is still under contract to The Blues, there are rumours of him joining Atletico Madrid. His price valuation has been set at €30–35 million.

🚨🔴⚪️ Understand Renato #Veiga is on the shortlist for Atlético Madrid. There are more options, but Atlético are monitoring Veiga’s situation.

The 21 y/o versatile defender could leave Chelsea if a suitable offer arrives. Price valuation: €30–35 million. Many enquiries have… pic.twitter.com/sYPVyknNOo

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 19, 2025

If this transfer were to go through, Chelsea would be making a tidy profit of €16-21 million. Impressive, considering the lack of playing time he has had in London.

Angelo Gabriel

An older signing, but one that still occurred in the Todd Boehly era, was Brazilian winger Angelo Gabriel.

He certainly went under the radar, joining Chelsea from Santos for €15 million in 2023 and then going on loan to Strasbourg for a season. He never made an appearance for Chelsea and left for €23 million in 2024 for Saudi club Al-Nassr.

Chelsea made a profit of €8 million on Gabriel.

Ângelo Gabriel joined Al Nassr ahead of the deadline 📝

Welcome to the #RoshnSaudiLeague, Angelo! 🇧🇷🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/ct5VgwweMg

— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) September 2, 2024

Nicolas Jackson

Another potential player that Chelsea could offload soon, the forward has been linked with a move away this summer.

Signed from Villareal for £32 million in 2023, the Senegalese international has made 34 goal contributions 65 Premier League games.

He is now linked with multiple clubs, and has been valued by Chelsea between £80-100 million.

If another club were to pay for this, Chelsea would be gaining a mouth-watering £48-68 million in potential profit.

Chelsea value striker Nicolas Jackson at between £80m and £100m 🚨

If he was to leave, the £79m Liverpool are paying for Hugo Ekitike including add-ons would be used as a benchmark for any potential deal 🔵 pic.twitter.com/U8sKGEi46O

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 21, 2025

How has this strategy benefitted the Chelsea squad?

The transfer moves listed above add both capital and relieve FFP concerns for the club. These small bits of profit on less notable signings has allowed Chelsea to free up resources for more key signings for their starting 11.

Although the depth of their squad is still probably too much, it allows them to trade less important sections of their squad to afford higher value signings, without it deeply impacting anything.

As well as this, the huge amount of money that they earned from winning the Club World Cup will combine with their long-term transfer profits which should allow them to pay off the already hundreds of millions they have spent on players. With their already strong squad on paper this year, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them competing for the title in the next few years.

Conclusion

Although Chelsea's transfer strategy is only starting to really pay off now, the trend is clear. With the cost of players being heavily inflated at the moment, the higher-ups at Chelsea have an opportunity to cash in on many of their players.

This could further satisfy FFP and ensure efficient recruitment for the seasons to come.

Chelsea's mad policy on transfers may be looked at in the future as a bet that has paid off, but we will have to wait and see on who they can recruit and sell in the future.