Chelsea's have capitalised on the Premier League's Manchester City concentration to ensure a loophole in the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules remains open.

In June 2023, The Millennium and Copthorne hotels, as well as the women's team, were sold by Chelsea FC Holdings Ltd to BlueCo 22 Properties Ltd. However, both companies are owned by BlueCo, meaning Chelsea effectively sold their hotels to themselves.

While there may have been question marks as to why this is potentially nothing more than a waste of time, it actually saved Chelsea from falling foul of FFP. Instead of losing PS166.4m in the 2022/23 financial period, the Blues only lost PS89.9m thanks to the PS76.5m.

As we have seen in the punishments handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest, had Chelsea not completed this deal, they could have been set to face a points deduction. It had been expected that this loophole would be closed by the Premier League at the earliest convenience, as while not against the rules, it is perhaps not in the spirit of them.

However, at last week's shareholder meeting there was no attempt to close the loophole, according to The Times. Instead, the meeting apparently focused on the lengthy hearing with City regarding their alleged historical FFP breaches.

Since last month, the Premier League and City have been embroiled in the hearing and it is believed that is what helped the Chelsea loophole remain open. It is believed the Premier League have not given up on closing it, but it is not a priority.

Click this link to follow the football.london Chelsea WhatsApp channel, where you'll be kept up to date on the latest Blues news wherever you are.

Just remember to turn on the notifications once you've followed, and you won't miss a beat!