Chelsea announce profit of £32.5m in 'a sign of strength and stability'

Financial results for 2020 don't include summer signings of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy

Chelsea club have announced a profit for 2020. Getty

Chelsea managed to earn a profit of £32.5million ($44m) despite the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Premier League club's latest set of financial results.

The overall turnover for the Chelsea group fell from £446.7m to £407.4m for the year ended June 30, 2020.

Nevertheless, qualification for the Champions League and surplus made "on a number of player sales" helped the west London club post a substantial profit.

The club also continues "to comply with UEFA's break-even criteria under the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations".

Broadcasting and matchday revenues decreased by £17.6m and £12.2m respectively, which was primarily as a result of the suspension of the season from March 2020.

Reduced matchday costs because of games being postponed helped partially offset the losses from the pandemic.

The Stamford Bridge club decided against using the Government's coronavirus job retention furlough scheme, continuing to pay wages of full-time and temporary staff who were not required to work throughout the 2020 financial year.

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Chelsea v Villa player ratings

CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy, 6 - A couple of indecisive moments when faced with balls into the box caused Mendy’s back four some moments of panic, and he won’t be happy that El Ghazi could squeeze a volley through his legs to draw Villa level. AP

Cesar Azpilicueta, 6 - Booked in first-half stoppage time for halting the run of Anwar El-Ghazi but had a steady game and was always available to Callum Hudson-Odoi on the overlap. EPA

Andreas Christensen, 6 - Given a tough test by the movement and quick feet of Grealish in the first half and the Dane was prone on the ground with an injury in the build-up to Villa’s equaliser. EPA

Antonio Rudiger, 6 - Quietly went about his business but Chelsea certainly lacked a leader at the heart of defence and the German was unable to help stem the tide in the second half as Villa grew in belief. Reuters

Ben Chilwell, 8 -- A real threat on the overlap, summed up when he provided a perfect cross for Giroud to head home the opener. The 24-year-old looks a snip at £50 million and almost won it at the death with a gorgeous volley that sailed inches wide. AP

N’golo Kante, 6 - A relatively quiet first half for the Frenchman but he saw more action in the second period, most notably with two strikes from the edge of the box in the space of a couple of minutes, but neither provided Emiliano Martinez with a decent test in the Villa goal. Booked for a late challenge on opposite number John McGinn. AP

Jorginho, 5 -- Failed to give his side enough midfield control when in possession and struggled defensively when visiting attackers ran at him with the ball. Replaced by Kai Havertz with 20 minutes left. EPA

Mason Mount, 6 - Almost added to Chelsea’s lead in the 39th minute when he burst through the Villa defence before wildly lashing the ball high and wide from six yards. Always looks like he can create something but today wasn’t quite his day. AP

Christian Pulisic, 7 - A busy game for the American in which he couldn’t quite make the most of a handful of decent chances but worked the ball nicely to Chilwell in the build-up to his side’s opener. A danger but needs to improve his end product. Getty

Callum Hudson-Odoi, 6 - An energetic performance from a player who was clearly keen to impress, and the closest he came to a goal was a driven second-half effort from the edge of the area that was well saved. EPA

Olivier Giroud, 7 - Feeding off scraps for the majority of the first half but took his header brilliantly when he peeled away from his defender before guiding the ball beyond Martinez in the Villa goal. Booked for an exchange of words with El Ghazi in the 71st minute before being replaced by Timo Werner seconds later. AFP

SUBS: Timo Werner (Giroud, 72’), N/R - Snatched at a chance in the 83rd minute and the ball flew harmlessly over the bar. Getty

Kai Havertz (Jorginho, 72’), N/R – Saw plenty of the ball in his 20 minutes on the pitch but didn’t muster anything meaningful. PA

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez, 6 - A very efficient goalkeeper at dealing with set pieces into his penalty area, but there was nothing he could do about Giroud’s pinpoint header. AFP

Matt Targett, 7 - A candidate for man of the match on Boxing Day and after a tricky opening half-hour from Callum Hudson-Odoi the full-back got to grips with his winger and kept a lid on things in the second half. EPA

Ezri Konsa, 7 - Replaced the suspended Tyrone Mings for this one and was excellent at snuffing out embers of Chelsea danger as the hosts began to turn the screw in the final 20 minutes. AP

Kortney Hause, 7 - Will be annoyed he failed to test Mendy with a first-half header after getting goal side of marker Azpilicueta but had a steady game at the heart of Villa’s defence. PA

Matty Cash, 7 - Defended bravely against Christian Pulisic and wasn’t afraid to put his head where it hurt. Going forward, the former Nottingham Forest man was on hand with a brilliant cross that put the ball on a plate for El Ghazi to finish for Villa’s equaliser. AFP

Douglas Luiz, 6 - A smooth operator in midfield who always has bundles of time to keep play ticking over. The Brazilian didn’t provide the game with anything truly memorable but he’s a vital cog in the Villa engine. Reuters

John McGinn, 8 - Alert as ever to block a Pulisic effort from the edge of the box and the Scot almost stunned Frank Lampard’s side when his ferocious drive from 30 yards crashed against the crossbar, in what was an outstanding all-action display. EPA

Anwar El-Ghazi, 7 - Combined well with Jack Grealish as the two probed at the Chelsea defence in the first half, before getting on the end of an inch-perfect Matty Cash cross to guide a volley through the legs of Mendy for 1-1. Replaced by Jacob Ramsey late on. EPA

Bertrand Traore, 6 - The Burkina Faso international lit up his side’s win over Crystal Palace on Boxing Day but he spent large periods of this one on the outskirts of the game and didn’t impress full-back Cash when he failed to track his runner on the way to Chelsea’s goal. Brought off for Keinan Davis in the 87th minute. AP

Jack Grealish, 7 - Tested the keeper early on with a curling effort that was too central to cause any serious problems, but the Villa captain was at the heart of everything good about his side’s play on the counter and continues to shine at the top level. AFP

Ollie Watkins, 6 -- The summer signing from Brentford was full of running but never looked like ending his barren run in front of goal, which now stands at seven games. EPA

SUBS: Jacob Ramsey (El Ghazi, 82’), N/R – Millimetres away from winning it with a strike from the edge of the box that curled just wide only a few seconds after coming on. Reuters

Keinan Davis (Traore, 87’), N/R – Not enough time to make an impact. EPA

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Chelsea played their final four home Premier League games of the interrupted domestic campaign and also the conclusion of both the FA Cup and Champions League fixtures behind closed doors, the majority of which fell into the 2021 financial year.

Commercial revenue was also down by £9.5m, with non-match day activities in and around Stamford Bridge also closed because of the pandemic.

Chelsea also invested £93.7m in the squad during the 2020 financial year, which included existing player contract renegotiations.

However, the big-money summer signings of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy are not covered in the 2020 results as they all went through after June 30.

Blues chairman Bruce Buck said on the club website: "In common with many, many businesses across the globe, the pandemic has had a significant impact on Chelsea's income.

"But it is a sign of the strength and stability of our financial operation that the company was still able to post a profit in the past financial year.

"This was done while continuing to invest in our playing staff and indeed had normal football not halted in March, projections show a record profit and record turnover would have been achieved. That would have represented an increase in revenue for a fifth year in succession.

"Despite the impact of COVID, the revenue streams remained strong, our team is developing on the pitch and the club is in a good position to continue to grow when football is able to operate as it did previously, a time we are all looking forward to."