Chelsea’s fourth-place finish in the Premier League last season means they’re back rubbing shoulders with the big boys in the Champions League – but why are players like Joao Pedro at risk of being barred from playing in Europe’s top-tier competition, and what are the Blues doing to prevent that from happening?
Moving forward, the talismanic Brazilian is supposed to be a key component in whatever success Chelsea achieves under Italian manager Enzo Maresca – so why is the club now facing the prospect of leaving the 23-year-old at home while they compete in Europe in the 2025/26 season?
Chelsea At Risk of Not Being Able to Play Joao Pedro in Champions League
That’s because Maresca, one of the best managers in the world, and his team now have less than two weeks (the deadline is September 2) to demonstrate to UEFA that they’ve balanced their books enough to allow summer signings like Pedro to join their Champions League squad.
Chelsea sold well this summer, as they always do. In terms of the latter, Joao Felix has joined Al-Nassr; Bournemouth’s new No.10 is Djordje Petrovic; and Burnley has signed Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu in a two-man deal. However, none of those summer transactions will be considered by UEFA, the regulatory body of European football, with whom Chelsea reached a settlement deal in July for ‘flunking’ financial laws.
According to Mail Online, UEFA has informed Chelsea that their auditors will only evaluate money made on the following players: those included in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League knockout stage roster from last season.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s move to Everton and Noni Madueke’s movement from Chelsea to Arsenal will both be accounted for, bolstering the west Londoners’ financial case with UEFA. Felix’s departures do not count, as he only played in the Conference League for the first half of 2024/25.
As a result, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, who are both playing in Chelsea’s Conference League run-in, could be let go as the club faces a UEFA deadline of September 2 to comply with requirements and register summer arrivals.
The club is preferring permanent deals for the aforementioned players – and possibly others – rather than loaning them away, as it did with Marc Guiu. In layman’s words, the expense of adding new players to their Champions League roster must already be offset by revenue from player sales.
UEFA’s literature framed this as ‘cost savings’ vs ‘new costs’ in relation to their A List, which allows them to register up to 25 senior players. They can register fewer players if they want to meet the objective set for early September.
According to an in-depth analysis from Mail Online, Chelsea has no further limits on its B list, which is earmarked for young players born on or after January 1, 2004, and who have been with the club for at least two years.
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