- Chelsea have spent huge sums of money since Todd Boehly took over the club
- But the Blues remain astute at selling several stars to bring in important revenue
- Be careful what you wish for Palace fans! Do you want to become a yo-yo club? It’s All Kicking Off
Chelsea have received more income in player sales than any other club across the last 10 years.
The Blues have hit the headlines over the past 18 months for spending more than £1billion since a Todd Boehly-led consortium took over the club from Roman Abramovich in May 2022.
They were similarly well-backed in the market by the Russian businessman, but were always astute in bringing in income through player sales.
And, according to new data from transfermarkt, Chelsea have the highest transfer income since 2014-15, with £1.13bn made from shipping out stars.
This covers notable big money departures such as Eden Hazard’s move to Real Madrid in 2019 for a fee rising to £150m, along with the summer exits of Kai Havertz to Arsenal for £65m and Mason Mount’s transfer to Man United for £55m.
Chelsea have received more income in player sales than any club across the past 10 years
This includes Eden Hazard’s departure to Real Madrid in 2019 for a fee rising to £150m
They have regularly sold academy graduates, with Mason Mount joining Man United for £55m
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However, the likes of Marc Guehi, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori – three academy graduates – have also been sold for large fees that were worth £65m in total.
Benfica were second behind Chelsea, bringing a total transfer income of £1.04bn, with the Portuguese giants known for producing several top quality players over the years.
This includes the exit of Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid in 2019 at the age of just 19 for £113m, Chelsea’s acquisition of Enzo Fernandez last January for a British record £106.8m fee, and Darwin Nunez’s £85m move to Liverpool in 2022.
The likes of Rubian Dias, Goncalo Ramos, Ederson, Raul Jimenez and Nelson Semedo have also departed Benfica for more than £30m over the past 10 years.
Another hotbed for talent, AS Monaco, ranked third, with the Principality side bringing in £1.03bn in transfer income.
This was no doubt helped by Kylian Mbappe’s £166m move to PSG in 2017 and Aurelien Tchouameni’s £85.3m transfer to Real Madrid.
Benfica raked in £1.04bn worth of sales, including Joao Felix’s £113m move to Atletico Madrid
Monaco were third, helped by Kylian Mbappe’s mammoth £166m transfer to PSG in 2017
Juventus (£933m) and Barcelona (£908m) raked in the fourth and fifth biggest transfer incomes respectively.
Only three other English teams joined Chelsea in the top 20, with Arsenal and Manchester United not even ranking in the top 30 teams with the highest transfer income.
Manchester City were 13th, having sold £678m worth of talent, while Liverpool ranked 15th after bringing in £631m in transfer income.
The shock English club to make the top 20 was Southampton, with the Saints sandwiched between Lille in 18th and PSG in 20th respectively.
While they are now a Championship side after a difficult few years, Southampton have a history of producing – and selling on – highly promising youngsters, with the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw all being sold for more than £26m.
Meanwhile, they have also helped to develop players from other clubs before they were subsequently poached, with Virgil van Dijk’s £75m transfer to Liverpool still their highest sale, while Sadio Mane also moved to Anfield for £34m.
Southampton ranked 19th, which was helped by Virgil van Dijk’s £75m transfer to Liverpool
The highest transfer incomes of clubs since the start of the 2014-15 campaign
Just this summer, Romeo Lavia was sold to Chelsea in a £58m deal – one year after arriving at St Mary’s for £10.5m.
With FFP restrictions increasingly causing complications, continuing to sell stars is likely to be a major part of European clubs’ models over the coming years.
