Chelsea Champions League exclusions update after scramble to satisfy UEFA
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Credit: Imago, Getty
Oliver Walton
Wed 3 September 2025 15:09, UK
Chelsea believe that they will comply with UEFA’s financial rules for the Champions League and so players will only be left out of their squad for the competition due to alternative reasons.
The Blues’ extravagant recent spending has not been without its challenges, with the likes of Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens all signed for big fees this summer.
Chelsea were fined €31million (£27m) by UEFA in July after they breached their earnings and squad-cost rules (SCR), and they are reportedly set to face an increased fine if they fail to comply with regulations again over the next four years.
They have also faced doubts over whether they will be able to register new signings in European competitions over the next two seasons, but a number of big sales look to have balanced their books in that regard.
Noni Madueke has joined Arsenal, while Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix have each made big-money exits, among many others, to help Chelsea become the first Premier League club to recoup more than £300million from sales in one window, and they are now seemingly in the clear regarding registering new players with UEFA.
Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media
The Athletic (2 September) have reported that, following their numerous big-money sales that saw the club turn a profit over the summer window, higher-ups at Stamford Bridge are now “relaxed” about being able to register new signings with UEFA for the Champions League this season.
Instead of recent arrivals potentially having to be left out of their squad for Europe’s premier competition for a breach of financial rules, sources at Chelsea have told The Athletic that if anyone is left out for the group phase, “it will be for a different reason”.
Credit: Imago
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Football Insider verdict
The Blues have clearly done some superb business this summer, not only in terms of incomings, but with also being able to sell 14 first-team players for a transfer fee, as well as letting Nicolas Jackson join Bayern Munich for a £14.3m loan fee [BBC].
They will, as a result, feel massively relieved that they have not been particularly desperate to offload Raheem Sterling, despite him having no future at the club after a recent disappointing loan spell at Arsenal.
AppearancesStartsGoalsAssists81621915Sterling’s Chelsea career stats
His signature cost Chelsea a sizeable £47.5m [Sky Sports] nearly three years ago, and they have seen diminishing returns on that investment after he failed to net double figures for league goals in his first two seasons in West London.
West Ham and Fulham were both interested in signing Sterling in the final few days of the summer transfer window, but he failed to seal a Stamford Bridge exit, and will now likely be in limbo until January unless he can move abroad as soon as possible while other windows are still open.