Despite qualifying, Chelsea will not automatically accept a spot in the Europa Conference League for the following season, a journalist has reported.
Chelsea dropped down into the Europa Conference League the following season, despite having previously secured Europa League football by finishing sixth, as a result of Manchester United’s unexpected FA Cup victory.
The Blues had a stunning turnaround in their play toward the end of the season, winning their final five games and taking sixth place.
Even with his best efforts, Mauricio Pochettino was fired from his position at Stamford Bridge because the management didn’t think they were good enough.
They will be going through another trying summer as they look for a new manager and make sure they keep up their compliance with the Premier League’s regulations regarding profit and sustainability.
Journalist Matt Law believes they may pull out of the competition if they are required to adhere to more stringent financial fair play regulations in order to compete in Europe.
On the podcast At The Bridge, Law stated: “Because UEFA FFP is stricter than Premier League PSR, Chelsea will not automatically accept an invitation to the Europa Conference League for risk of breaching financial rules and a subsequent European ban.”
The Conference League is the third European competition, and Chelsea, the two-time Champions League winners, may decide not to enter if doing so could result in a future ban.
There is no denying that Chelsea has the depth in their squad to compete and could field two distinct teams in both the league and Europe.
The decision might be made in the boardroom rather than by a newly hired manager.
Whatever happens, Pochettino’s replacement will have a challenging task ahead of them, and it’s unclear if they’ll have the time necessary to be successful.
