These questionable payments came to light when Todd Boehly's Clearlake Capital consortium was in the process of purchasing the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022. Following their acquisition of Chelsea, the new ownership promptly reported their findings to the FA, Premier League, and UEFA.
As reported by The Times, the Premier League is specifically scrutinizing the transfers involving Willian and Eto'o as part of their comprehensive inquiry. Chelsea had signed Willian for £30 million from the Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2013, and Eto'o had joined the club on a free transfer from the same Russian club the day after Willian's arrival.
In addition to the standard transfer fees, financial records seem to suggest that additional payments might have been made to "Russian entities." The report also brings attention to an alleged payment to a player's family, which is currently under the Premier League's investigation.
Chelsea has responded to these allegations in a statement, clarifying that these concerns are related to a time before the club's current ownership. They involve entities that were supposedly under the control of the club's previous owner and have no connection to any individuals currently associated with the club.
"Chelsea FC's ownership group completed its purchase of the club on May 30, 2022. During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions during the club's previous ownership.
"Immediately following the completion of the purchase, the club proactively self-reported these matters to all applicable football regulators.
"In accordance with the club's ownership group's core principles of full compliance and transparency, the club has proactively assisted the applicable regulators with their investigations and will continue to do so."
Even though any suspected violations occurred during Abramovich's ownership, Chelsea might still be subjected to penalties, which could include substantial fines and potential deductions in points.
