Chelsea do it again! BlueCo dodge latest transfer rule as new loophole found

Analysis

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Chelsea appear to have found another loophole as they try to navigate the increasingly complex regulatory framework of the transfer market.

The Blues have officially completed the record-shattering signing of Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa. The England forward has joined for an eye-watering €138 million, making him the second-most expensive player in Premier League history and Chelsea's biggest-ever signing.

The fact that Chelsea, who have repeatedly been fined for breaching spending rules and other transfer-related misdemeanours, are able to shell out that much on a player has raised eyebrows. FootballTransfers has explained in detail how Chelsea might be doing it.

Current ETV

Morgan Rogers

M (CL), AM (L)

Chelsea

Morgan Rogers

M (CL), AM (L)

Chelsea

€65.1M

ETV Range

€58.6M - €71.7M

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The long and short of it is that they are good sellers, they will not be in a UEFA competition next season (so they can't breach UEFA rules) and five-year amortisation of the fee means that they are essentially paying less than €30m for Rogers annually.

Those three factors aren't enough, however, because Chelsea are obviously not just signing Rogers. Indeed, they have already spent €257m on incoming transfers this summer, and they will likely shell out more.

Villa are bailing Chelsea out

To be able to keep spending, Chelsea are now banking on the cooperation of Villa. Unlike expenditures on incoming deals, profits from sales hit the books in full immediately, which is hugely important for Villa.

So by signing Rogers for €138m, the Blues have essentially solved all of their Premier League rivals' well-documented financial issues, at least for this year. Now, it's up to the Birmingham club to return the favour, just as they did in 2024 when they essentially swapped Omari Kellyman and Ian Maatsen.

It is very convenient, then, that Villa are believed to be finalising a deal for unwanted Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho. But there is one small problem. If they were to sign him now, which is Chelsea's preference because they want to get him off the books, it would count as a player exchange under UEFA rules.

Ahead of the summer, UEFA amended its transfer regulations to state that any deals in which two players move in opposite directions within a 45-day period count as swaps. Chelsea want to get rid of Garnacho before the month is out, so it would be an exchange with Villa for Rogers.

This is crucial because UEFA is very strict when it comes to player exchanges by effectively limiting the profit clubs can record. This isn't immediately relevant to Chelsea because they aren't in Europe this season, but they expect to be back next term, so they would then have to comply with the governing body's rules.

And because UEFA looks at a three-year period for its Squad Cost Ratio rule, it makes little sense for Chelsea to forego a profit on Garnacho by "trading" him for Rogers this summer.

This explains why they are suddenly open to loaning him out despite previously insisting that he can only be acquired permanently when AS Roma tried to sign him earlier this summer.

Villa are expected to agree a loan deal with a conditional purchase obligation. UEFA rules are not entirely clear on this, but it is likely that loan deals with mandatory purchase clauses are seen as permanent transfers.

However, by making it a conditional obligation that must first be activated by meeting performance-related criteria, Chelsea and Villa may have found a loophole to get around this. After all, if you can get out of an obligation, it isn't much of an obligation.

By doing it this way, Chelsea, who have sold €132m worth of talent this summer, are already massaging their books for next year and getting the most out of a possible Garnacho exit.

If Nicolas Jackson also ends up moving to Villa, don't be surprised if the deal has a similar formula. With just 41 days left in the transfer window, the only way Chelsea and Villa can get around UEFA's 45-day player exchange rule is by agreeing deals for future windows.