Chelsea revealed it made an operating loss for the year it was out of the Champions League in the latest set of annual financial results, according to Matt Law of the London TELEGRAPH. Although the figure of its loss has not been disclosed, the side managed to pull itself "back into the black thanks in main" to the £60M sale of Oscar last January. Oscar's departure to Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG contributed to a profit on player trading of £69.2M, which helped Chelsea report an overall profit of £15.3M for the year ended June 30, 2017. Chelsea's turnover increased 9.8% from £329.1M to £361.3M thanks to a "greater share of the Premier League broadcast revenue as a result of winning last season's title." The absence of Champions League football meant that matchday revenues for '16-17 fell (
TELEGRAPH, 12/29). ESPN.com's Liam Twomey reported several new commercial partnerships also provided an "income boost," including the start of a three-year, £30M ($40.8M) deal with Thai energy drink company Carabao to sponsor trainingwear. Chelsea expects next year's results to be "boosted" by the return of Champions League broadcast revenue, coupled with the start of a 15-year technical partnership with Nike worth £900M ($1.22B). Other commercial arrangements "will also be explored" (
ESPN.com, 12/29).
