Chelsea credited player sales and new broadcast income for its £18.4M ($27.9M) profit last year as the club "tries to meet the sport’s financial rules without using its Russian owner’s billions," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. The profit "comes after the sale of defender David Luiz and midfielder Juan Mata." Last year the west London team had a loss of £49.4M. Chelsea, which is in first place in the Premier League after 21 games this season, had sales of £319.8M for the year through June 30, up from £255.8M a year earlier. The club said that it made a profit of £65.1M on player trading, mainly through the sales of Mata to ManU, Kevin de Bruyne to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg and Luiz to Ligue 1 side Paris St. Germain (BLOOMBERG, 1/12). The PA's Martyn Ziegler reported Chelsea may be top of the Premier League but its wage bill "is still some way below" its two Manchester rivals. The London club's annual accounts reveal that Chelsea's wage bill for the '13-14 season was £190.5M, up 8% from £176M. United is currently the biggest payer in English football, shelling out a total £214.8M ($324M) on salaries while City's wage bill dropped last season to £205M ($310M). Chelsea's accounts "show broadcasting income increased" by £34M ($51M) to £139M ($210M), due to the new Premier League TV deal plus the benefits of being Champions League semi-finalists, while commercial income also showed a big rise, up £29M ($44M) to £108M ($163M) (DAILY MAIL, 1/12).
