Chelsea FC – The method behind the madness

Well, if you failed to notice it in the dragged-out summary above, here it is.

With trophies, comes money from various sources – from ticket sales to television rights to tournament prize money and more. When Abramovich took over at Chelsea, he prioritised trophies over anything else. He knew that those trophies will bring loads of cash along with them.

When Claudio Ranieri spent £120 million on new recruits without a single trophy in return, that was unacceptable for Roman. The guy just spent £120 million of his money; so why would one expect anything less than glory in return?

Mourinho spent about £70 million and managed Chelsea to Premier League glory. However, it was financial glory as well. Chelsea received about £20 million in television revenue, about £10 million in ticket sales and about £30 million as tournament prize money – a total of about £60 million. And if we add the merchandise sales and the sponsorship deals that the triumph attracted, the sum jumps to around £100 million. Unless you are bad at maths, you would know that £100 million is more than £70 million. So, it made sense, financially, for Roman Abramovich. Hence, the Russian was happy.

The same suite was followed for the next season. Chelsea regained their Premier League crown and everything was well on the yacht of Mr. Roman Abramovich. Chelsea made massive profits and now, thanks to all the success, had a global identity (more merchandising, further sales, increased following, basically, more money).

By the time Mourinho left the club, it had become a shark. Global appeal and following was at an all-time high. People across the world were familiar with the Blues of West London.

So, when Roman Abramovich decided to spend £72 million on Torres and Luiz without a return of a trophy at the end of the season, he was gutted. His investment failed because the manager was not able to win silverware. Sure, they received a huge sum thanks to their sponsors, merchandising and position in the Premier League table, but it was not enough to justify the £72 million outlay. Someone had to pay; and sadly, it was Ancelotti.

That outlay was more than made up for when, in 2012, Chelsea lifted the Champions League. Chelsea received an astonishing £40 million as television revenue and another £15 million as the prize money for winning the tournament. If we add the revenue from ticket sales and merchandising, we get a staggering £82 million, which was, ironically, £4 million more than the losses suffered the previous year.

So, there stood Roman Abramovich, with a smirk on his face, seeing his master plan unfold in front of the world. However, with great success comes hunger. And Abramovich’s hunger was beginning to grow.

Chelsea again spent a massive amount in the summer of 2012 on the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Victor Moses and more. That sum is yet to be repaid through success. Gladly though, they have the man for the job – none other than Jose Mourinho.

Can Jose Mourinho bring back the glory days of Chelsea?

It does not matter how many marquee signings Chelsea make this summer as long as they are certain about silverware in the forthcoming seasons.

It is not madness at Stamford Bridge; rather, it is a method. And the method is not ‘success through cash’, but ‘cash through success’.