In 1904,Gus Mears acquired theStamford Bridge athletics stadium inFulham with the aim of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearbyFulham F.C. was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own club to use the stadium. As there was already a team named Fulham in the borough, the name of the adjacent borough ofChelsea was chosen for the new club; names likeKensington FC,Stamford Bridge FC andLondon FC were considered.[9] Chelsea F.C. was founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook),[1][10] opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground onFulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards.
Chelsea won promotion to the First Division in their second season, and yo-yoed between the First and Second Divisions in its early years. The team reached the1915 FA Cup final, where they lost toSheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished third in the First Division in 1920, the club's best league campaign to that point.[11] Chelsea had a reputation for signing star players[12] and attracted large crowds. The club had the highest average attendance in English football in ten separate seasons[13] including1907–08,[14]1909–10,[15]1911–12,[16]1912–13,[17]1913–14[18] and1919–20.[19][20] They were FA Cup semi-finalists in1920 and1932 and remained in the First Division throughout the 1930s, but success eluded the club in the inter-war years.
Modernisation and the first league championship (1952–1983)
Chart showing the progress of Chelsea's league finishes from 1906 to the present
FormerArsenal and England centre-forwardTed Drake was appointed manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club'sChelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side with shrewd signings from the lower divisions and amateur leagues, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create theEuropean Champions' Cup, but after objections fromThe Football League, Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.[21][22] Chelsea failed to build on this success, and spent the remainder of the 1950s in mid-table. Drake was dismissed in 1961 and replaced by player-coachTommy Docherty.
Docherty built a new team around the group of talented young players emerging from the club's youth set-up, and Chelsea challenged for honours throughout the 1960s, enduring several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the final stages of the 1964–65 season, winning theLeague Cup but faltering late on in the other two.[23] In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. Under Docherty's successor,Dave Sexton, Chelsea won theFA Cup in 1970, beatingLeeds United 2–1 in a final replay. The following year, Chelsea took their first European honour, aUEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, with another replayed win, this time overReal Madrid in Athens.
The late 1970s through to the '80s was a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club,[24] star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorioushooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade.[25] In 1982, at the nadir of their fortunes, Chelsea were acquired byKen Bates from Mears' great-nephewBrian Mears, for the nominal sum of £1. Bates bought a controlling stake in the club and floated Chelsea on theAIM stock exchange in March 1996[26] although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home.[27] On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to theThird Division for the first time, but in 1983 managerJohn Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won theSecond Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division with two top-six finishes, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89.
After a long-running legal battle, Bates reunited the stadium freehold with the club in 1992 by doing a deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash.[28] In the mid-1990s Chelsea fan and businessmanMatthew Harding became a director and loaned the club £26 million to build the new North Stand and invest in new players.[29] Chelsea's form in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the1994 FA Cup final. The appointment ofRuud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 began an upturn in the team's fortunes. He added several top international players to the side and led the club to their first major honour since 1971, theFA Cup. Gullit was replaced byGianluca Vialli, whose reign saw Chelsea win theLeague Cup, theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup and theUEFA Super Cup in 1998, and theFA Cup in 2000. They mounted a strong title challenge in 1998–99, finishing four points behind champions Manchester United, and made their first appearance in theUEFA Champions League. Vialli was sacked in favour ofClaudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the2002 FA Cup final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.
With the club facing an apparent financial crisis,[30] Bates unexpectedly sold Chelsea F.C. in June 2003 for £60 million.[31] In so doing, he reportedly recognised a personal profit of £17 million on the club he had bought for £1 in 1982 (his stake had been diluted to just below 30% over the years). The club's new owner wasRussian oligarch and billionaireRoman Abramovich, who took on responsibility for the club's £80 million of debt, quickly paying some of it.Sergei Pugachev alleged Chelsea was bought on Putin's orders, an allegation Abramovich has denied.[32] Bates mentioned that Abramovich was in talks to buy Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur before he bought Chelsea in a deal sealed in a day.[33]
Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies,[34] and was replaced byJosé Mourinho.[35] Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War (2004–05 and2005–06),[36] in addition to winning an FA Cup (2007) and two League Cups (2005 and2007). After a poor start to the 2007–08 season, Mourinho was replaced byAvram Grant,[37] who led the club to their firstUEFA Champions League final, which they lost on penalties toManchester United. The club did not turn a profit in the first nine years of Abramovich's ownership, and made record losses of £140m in June 2005.[38]
I am a fan of special nature. I'm excited before every single game. The trophy at the end is less important than the process itself.
—Abramovich discussing two trophy-laden years at Chelsea (2006).[39]
In 2009, under caretaker managerGuus Hiddink, Chelsea won anotherFA Cup.[40] In2009–10, his successorCarlo Ancelotti led them to their firstPremier League andFA CupDouble, becoming the first English top-flight club to score 100 league goals in a season since1963.[41] In 2012,Roberto Di Matteo led Chelsea to their seventhFA Cup,[42] and their firstUEFA Champions League title, beatingBayern Munich 4–3 on penalties, the first London club to win the trophy.[43] The following year the club won theUEFA Europa League,[44] making them the first club to hold two major European titles simultaneously and one offive clubs to have won the three main UEFA trophies.[45] Mourinho returned as manager in 2013 and led Chelsea toLeague Cup success in March 2015,[46] and the Premier League title two months later.[47] Mourinho was sacked after four months of the following season after a poor start.[48]
In November 2012, Chelsea announced a profit of £1.4 million for the year ending 30 June 2012, the first time the club had made a profit under Abramovich's ownership.[38][49] This was followed by a loss in 2013 and then their highest ever profit of £18.4 million for the year to June 2014.[50] In 2018 Chelsea announced a record after-tax profit of £62 million.[51]
In 2017, under new coachAntonio Conte, Chelsea won their sixth English title and the following season won their eighth FA Cup.[52] In 2018 Conte was sacked after a fifth-place finish and replaced withMaurizio Sarri,[53][54] under whom Chelsea reached theLeague Cup final, which they lost on penalties toManchester City[55] and won theEuropa League for a second time, beatingArsenal 4–1 in the final. Sarri then left the club to become manager ofJuventus and was replaced by former Chelsea playerFrank Lampard.[56]
In Lampard'sfirst season, he guided Chelsea to fourth place in the Premier League and reached the FA Cupfinal, losing 2–1 to Arsenal.[57] Lampard was dismissed in January 2021 and replaced withThomas Tuchel.[58][59]
Players of Chelsea celebrating their firstFIFA Club World Cup title (2021) after beating Brazilian sidePalmeiras in the final
On 18 April 2021, Chelsea announced it would be joining a newEuropean Super League, a league competition comprising the biggest European clubs.[63] After a backlash from supporters, the club announced their withdrawal days later.[64] The club opted against furloughing their non-matchday staff during theCOVID-19 pandemic, with the decision reportedly coming from Abramovich himself. Chelsea, one of the first clubs to help theNational Health Service, lent the club-owned Millennium Hotel for the NHS staff.[65]
"[Chelsea] have been a success machine for the last 10–20 years. That doesn't just come with money, we've seen at Manchester United and Arsenal where they've put billions into the team and not had the success that Chelsea have had. Chelsea can feel comfortable that they'll have rich owners, but will they have football-smart owners? Because that's what Abramovich has been.
"I don't want to throw my money away but it's really about having fun and that means success and trophies."
—Roman Abramovich, in an interview with theBBC following the takeover.[67]
Amidst financial sanctions leveled at Russian oligarchs by Western governments in response to the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich stated on 26 February that he would hand over thestewardship of Chelsea to the trustees of the Chelsea Foundation.[68] The trustees did not immediately agree, due to legal concerns regarding the rules of theCharity Commission for England and Wales.[69] A week later, Abramovichwrote-off the £1.5 billion the club owed him, and put the club up for sale, pledging to donate net proceeds from it to the victims of the war in Ukraine.[70][71]
On 10 March 2022, theBritish government announced sanctions on Abramovich with Chelsea allowed to operate under a special license until 31 May.[72][73] In the following weeks, reports emerged of Abramovich's involvement in brokering a peace deal betweenUkraine andRussia and securing safe evacuation corridors in besieged Ukrainian cities.[74][75] An American government official revealed that the Ukrainian president,Volodymyr Zelenskyy had requested that the US government not levy sanctions against Abramovich given his importance to war relief efforts.[76]
We're all in – 100% – every minute of every match. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud.
—Todd Boehly, addressing the press after the takeover.[77]
On 7 May 2022, Chelsea confirmed that terms had been agreed for a new ownership group, led byTodd Boehly,Clearlake Capital,Mark Walter andHansjörg Wyss, to acquire the club. The group was later known asBlueCo.[78] The UK government approved the £4.25bn takeover,[79] ending Abramovich's 19-year ownership of the club.[80]Bruce Buck, who served as chairman since 2003, was replaced by Boehly,[81] while long-serving club director andde factosporting directorMarina Granovskaia left,[82] as didPetr Čech from the role of technical and performance advisor.[83]
The club brought inGraham Potter fromBrighton & Hove Albion to replace Tuchel on 8 September 2022. Chelsea won six of the first 11 games of the2022–23 season, but only five of the remaining 27. Potter would be sacked on 2 April 2023 and eventually be replaced by Frank Lampard as caretaker manager.[84] Under Lampard the club would only win one of their last 11 matches resulting in a 9% win percentage. Lampard's win percentage was the worst for any Chelsea manager who managed three games or more.[85] Chelsea scored a record-low 38 goals across the entire season and finished in the bottom half of the table for the first time since 1995–96.[86]
Mauricio Pochettino was announced as Lampard's replacement in 2023.[87] He led Chelsea to a 6th-place finish, and a place in theConference League play-off round qualification.[88] After clashing with the sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley over strategy and management of the young squad,[89][90][91][92] Pochettino agreed to leave the club at the end of the season.[93][94]
On 3 June 2024,Enzo Maresca was announced as Pochettino's replacement, with the Italian beginning his term as manager on 1 July 2024.[95]
Chelsea have only had one home ground, Stamford Bridge, where they have played since the team's foundation. The stadium was officially opened on 28 April 1877 and for the next 28 years it was used by theLondon Athletic Club as an arena for athletics meetings. In 1904, the ground was acquired by businessmanGus Mears and his brotherJoseph, who had purchased nearby land (formerly a large market garden) with the aim of staging football matches on the now 12.5 acre (51,000 m2) site.[96] Stamford Bridge was designed for the Mears family by the noted football architectArchibald Leitch, who had designedIbrox,Craven Cottage andHampden Park.[97] Most football clubs were founded first, and then sought grounds in which to play, but Chelsea were founded for Stamford Bridge.
Starting with an open bowl-like design and one grandstand with seating, Stamford Bridge had an original capacity of around 100,000, making it the second biggest stadium in England afterCrystal Palace.[96] The early 1930s saw the construction of a terrace on the southern part of the ground with a roof that covered around 20% of the stand. As the roof resembled that of a corrugated iron shed, the stand eventually became known as the "Shed End", although it is unknown who first coined this name. From the 1960s, it became known as the home of Chelsea's most loyal and vocal supporters.[96] In 1939, another small seated stand was added, the North Stand, which remained until its demolition in 1975.[96]
In the early 1970s, the club's owners announced a modernisation of Stamford Bridge with plans for a state-of-the-art 50,000 all-seater stadium.[96] Work began in 1972 but the project was beset with problems and ultimately only the East Stand was completed; the cost brought the club close to bankruptcy. Thefreehold was sold to property developers and the club were under threat of eviction from the stadium.[96] Following a long legal battle, it was not until the mid-1990s that Chelsea's future at Stamford Bridge was secured and renovation work resumed.[96] The north, west and southern parts of the ground were converted into all-seater stands and moved closer to the pitch, a process completed by 2001. The East Stand was retained from the 1970s development. In 1996, the north stand was renamed theMatthew Harding stand, after the club director and benefactor who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier that year.[98]
Chelseavs.West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge on 23 September 1905; Chelsea won 1–0.
When Stamford Bridge was redeveloped in theBates era many additional features were added to the complex including twoMillennium & Copthorne hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants, the Chelsea Megastore, and an interactive visitor attraction called Chelsea World of Sport. The intention was that these facilities would provide extra revenue to support the football side of the business, but they were less successful than hoped and before the Abramovich takeover in 2003 the debt taken on to finance them was a major burden on the club. Soon after the takeover a decision was taken to drop the "Chelsea Village" brand and refocus on Chelsea as a football club. However, the stadium is sometimes still referred to as part of"Chelsea Village" or"The Village".
The Stamford Bridgefreehold, thepitch, the turnstiles and Chelsea'snaming rights are now owned byChelsea Pitch Owners, a non-profit organisation in which fans are the shareholders. The CPO was created to ensure the stadium could never again be sold to developers. As a condition for using the Chelsea FC name, the club has to play its first team matches at Stamford Bridge, which means that if the club moves to a new stadium, they may have to change their name.[99]Chelsea'straining ground is located inCobham, Surrey. Chelsea moved to Cobham in 2004. Their previous training ground inHarlington was taken over byQPR in 2005.[100] The new training facilities in Cobham were completed in 2007.[101]
The previous owner Abramovich and the club's then executive board determined that a larger stadium is necessary in order for Chelsea to stay competitive with rival clubs who have significantly larger stadia, such asArsenal andManchester United.[112] Owing to its location next to a main road and two railway lines, fans can only enter Stamford Bridge via theFulham Road, which places constraints on expansion due tohealth and safety regulations.[113] The club have consistently affirmed their desire to keep Chelsea at their current home,[114][115] but have nonetheless been linked with a move to various nearby sites, including theEarls Court Exhibition Centre,Battersea Power Station and theChelsea Barracks.[116] In October 2011, a proposal from the club to buy back the freehold to the land on which Stamford Bridge sits was voted down by Chelsea Pitch Owners shareholders.[117] In May 2012, the club made a formal bid to purchaseBattersea Power Station, with a view to developing the site into a new stadium,[118] but lost out to a Malaysian consortium.[119] The club subsequently announced plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge into a 60,000-seater stadium,[120]and in January 2017 these plans were approved by Hammersmith and Fulham council.[121] However, on 31 May 2018, the club released a statement saying that the new stadium project had been put on hold indefinitely, citing "the current unfavourable investment climate".[122]
In July 2022, it was reported that the club's new ownerTodd Boehly had appointed American architectJanet Marie Smith to oversee the renovation of the stadium.[123]
Identity
Crest
Chelsea has had four maincrests, which all underwent minor variations. The first, adopted when the club was founded, was the image of aChelsea Pensioner, the army veterans who reside at the nearbyRoyal Hospital Chelsea. This contributed to the club's original "pensioner" nickname, and remained for the next half-century, though it never appeared on the shirts. WhenTed Drake became Chelsea manager in 1952, he began to modernise the club. Believing the Chelsea pensioner crest to be old-fashioned, he insisted that it be replaced.[124] A stop-gap badge which comprised the initials C.F.C. was adopted for a year. In 1953, the club crest was changed to an upright blue lion looking backwards and holding astaff. It was based on elements in thecoat of arms of theMetropolitan Borough of Chelsea[125] with the "lion rampant regardant" taken from the arms of then club presidentViscount Chelsea and the staff from theAbbots of Westminster, former Lords of the Manor of Chelsea. It featured three red roses, to represent England, and two footballs.[124] This was the first Chelsea crest to appear on the shirts, in the early 1960s. In 1975, aheraldic badge was granted by theCollege of Arms to theEnglish Football League for use by Chelsea. The badge took the form of the familiar lion and staff encircled by a blue ring but without lettering and without the red roses and red footballs (blazoned as "A lion rampant reguardant azure supporting with the forepaws a crozier or all within an annulet azure").[126] In 1986, withKen Bates owner of the club, Chelsea's crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise and because the old rampant lion badge could not be trademarked.[127] The new badge featured a more naturalistic non-heraldic lion, in white and not blue, standing over the C.F.C. initials. This lasted for the next 19 years, with some modifications such as the use of different colours, including red from 1987 to 1995, and yellow from 1995 until 1999, before the white returned.[128] With the new ownership ofRoman Abramovich, and the club's centenary approaching, combined with demands from fans for the popular 1950s badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2005. The new crest was officially adopted for the start of the2005–06 season and marked a return to the older design, used from 1953 to 1986, featuring a blue heraldic lion holding a staff. For the centenary season this was accompanied by the words '100 Years' and 'Centenary 2005–2006' on the top and bottom of the crest respectively.[129]
Chelsea have always worn blue shirts, although they originally used the palereton blue, which was taken from the racing colours of then club president,Earl Cadogan, and was worn with white shorts and dark blue or black socks.[131] The light blue shirts were replaced by a royal blue version in around 1912.[132] In the 1960s Chelsea managerTommy Docherty changed the kit again, switching to blue shorts (which have remained ever since) and white socks, believing it made the club's colours more modern and distinctive, since no other major side used that combination; this kit was first worn during the 1964–65 season.[133] Since then Chelsea have always worn white socks with their home kit apart from a short spell from 1985 to 1992, when blue socks were reintroduced.
Chelsea's away colours are usually all yellow or all white with blue trim. More recently, the club have had a number of black or dark blue away kits which alternate every year.[134] As with most teams, they have had some more unusual ones. At Docherty's behest, in the 1966 FA Cup semi-final they wore blue and black stripes, based onInter Milan's kit.[135] In the mid-1970s, the away strip was a red, white and green kit inspired by theHungarian national side of the 1950s.[136] Other away kits include an all jade strip worn from 1986 to 1989, red and white diamonds from 1990 to 1992, graphite and tangerine from 1994 to 1996, and luminous yellow from 2007 to 2008.[134] The graphite and tangerine strip has appeared in lists of the worst football kits ever.[137]
Chelsea released the song "No One Can Stop Us Now" in 1994 for reaching the1994 FA Cup final. It reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart.[141] In the build-up to the1997 FA Cup final, the song "Blue Day", performed bySuggs and members of the Chelsea squad, reached number 22 in the UK chart.[142] In 2000, Chelsea released the song "Blue Tomorrow". It reached number 22 in the UK Singles Chart.[141]
At matches, Chelsea fans singchants such as "Carefree" (to the tune of "Lord of the Dance", whose lyrics were probably written by supporter Mick Greenaway),[143][144] "Ten Men Went to Mow", "We All Follow the Chelsea" (to the tune of "Land of Hope and Glory"), "Zigga Zagga", and the celebratory "Celery". The latter is often accompanied by fans throwing celery at each other, although the vegetable was banned inside Stamford Bridge after an incident involving midfielderCesc Fàbregas at the2007 League Cup final.[145] Popular fan chants include, "Super Chelsea", "Super Frank" (dedicated to all-time leading goal scorerFrank Lampard), "We love you Chelsea" and "Come on Chelsea". There are situation-specific or team-specific chants meant to rile up opposition teams, managers or players.[146]
Chelsea is among the most widely supported football clubs in the world.[147][148] It has the sixth-highest average attendance in the history ofEnglish football,[149] and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge; they were the ninth best-supportedPremier League team in the 2023–24 season, with an average gate of 39,700.[150] Chelsea's traditional fanbase comes from all over theGreater London area including working-class parts such asHammersmith andBattersea, wealthier areas like Chelsea andKensington, and from thehome counties. There are numerous official supporters clubs in the United Kingdom and all over the world.[151] Between 2007 and 2012, Chelsea were ranked fourth worldwide in annual replica kit sales, with an average of 910,000.[152] As of 2023, Chelsea has 118.9 million followers on social media, the fourth highest among football clubs.[153]
During the 1970s and 1980s in particular, Chelsea supporters were associated withfootball hooliganism. The club's "football firm", originally known as the Chelsea Shed Boys, and subsequently as theChelsea Headhunters, were nationally notorious for football violence, alongside hooligan firms from other clubs such asWest Ham United'sInter City Firm andMillwall'sBushwackers, before, during and after matches.[154] The increase of hooligan incidents in the 1980s led chairman Ken Bates to propose erecting an electric fence to deter them from invading the pitch, a proposal that theGreater London Council rejected.[155]
Since the 1990s, there has been a marked decline in crowd trouble at matches, as a result of stricter policing,CCTV in grounds and the advent ofall-seater stadia.[156] In 2007, the club launched theBack to the Shed campaign to improve the atmosphere at home matches, with notable success. According toHome Office statistics, 126 Chelsea fans were arrested for football-related offences during the2009–10 season, the third highest in the division, and 27banning orders were issued, the fifth-highest in the division.[157]
A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com found that Chelsea fans consider their main rivalries to be with (in descending order):Arsenal,Tottenham Hotspur andManchester United. In the same survey, fans of Arsenal, Fulham, Leeds United, QPR, Tottenham, and West Ham United named Chelsea as one of their three main rivals.[164] A 2012 survey, conducted among 1,200 supporters of the top four league divisions across the country, found that many clubs' main rivals had changed since 2003 and reported that Chelsea fans consider Tottenham to be their main rivals, above Arsenal and Manchester United. Additionally, fans of Arsenal, Brentford, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, QPR, Tottenham and West Ham identified Chelsea as one of their top three rivals.[165]
Frank Lampard is Chelsea's all-time highest goalscorer.
Chelsea's highest appearance-maker is ex-captainRon Harris, who played in 795 competitive games for the club between 1961 and 1980.[166] Five other players made more than 500 appearances for the club:Peter Bonetti (729; 1959–79),John Terry (717; 1998–2017),Frank Lampard (648; 2001–2014),John Hollins (592; 1963–1975 and 1983–1984), andCésar Azpilicueta (508; 2012–2023).[167] With 103caps (101 while at the club) for England, Lampard is Chelsea's most capped international player. Every starting player in Chelsea's 57 games of the 2013–14 season was a full international – a new club record.[168]
Lampard is Chelsea's all-time top goalscorer, having scored 211 goals in 648 games (2001–2014);[166] he passedBobby Tambling's longstanding record of 202 in May 2013.[169] Eight other players have scored over 100 goals for Chelsea:George Hilsdon (1906–1912),George Mills (1929–1939),Roy Bentley (1948–1956),Jimmy Greaves (1957–1961),Peter Osgood (1964–1974 and 1978–1979),Kerry Dixon (1983–1992),Didier Drogba (2004–2012 and 2014–2015), andEden Hazard (2012–2019). Greaves holds the club record for the most goals scored in one season (43 in 1960–61).[170] While a Chelsea player, Greaves became the youngest ever player to score 100 goals in the English top-flight, at 20 years and 290 days.[171]
In January 2011 Chelsea broke the British transfer record to signFernando Torres for £50 million; the record stood until 2014
From 20 March 2004 to 26 October 2008, Chelsea went a record 86 consecutive league matches at home without defeat, beating the previous record of 63 matches unbeaten set by Liverpool between 1978 and 1980.[179][180] Chelsea hold the English record for the fewest goals conceded during a league season (15), the highest number of clean sheets overall in a Premier League season (25) (both set during the2004–05 season),[181] and the most consecutive clean sheets from the start of a league season (6, set during the2005–06 season).[182] Chelsea is the only Premier League side to have won its opening nine league games of the season, doing so in2005–06.[183][184] From 2009 to 2013, Chelsea were unbeaten in a record 29 consecutiveFA Cup matches (excluding penalty shoot-outs).[185]
On 25 August 1928, Chelsea, along with Arsenal, became the first club to play with shirt numbers, in their match againstSwansea Town.[186] They were the first English side to travel by aeroplane to a domestic away match, when they visitedNewcastle United on 19 April 1957,[187] and the first First Division side to play a match on a Sunday, when they facedStoke City on 27 January 1974. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first British side to field an entirely foreignstarting line-up (no British or Irish players) in a Premier League match againstSouthampton.[188] In May 2007, Chelsea were the first team to win the FA Cup at the newWembley Stadium, having been the last to win it at the old Wembley.[189] They were the first English club to be ranked No. 1 underUEFA's five-year coefficient system in the 21st century.[190] They were the first Premier League team, and the first team in the English top flight since 1962–63, to score at least 100 goals in a single season, reaching the milestone during the 2009–10 season.[41] Chelsea is the only London club to have won theUEFA Champions League.[191][192] Upon winning the2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Chelsea became the first English club towin all four UEFA club trophies and the only club to hold the Champions League and the Europa League at the same time.[193]
On 12 February 2022, Chelsea became the first London club to win theFIFA Club World Cup. In the final it beatPalmeiras withKai Havertz scoring a late penalty.[199] Chelsea broke the spending record in the winter transfer window with a £289 million spending spree on eight new signings, with the £107 million signing of Enzo Fernandez breaking the British transfer record.[200]
Ownership and finances
Todd Boehly, chairman and one of the co-owners of Chelsea
Chelsea Football Club was founded byGus Mears in 1905. After his death in 1912, his descendants continued to own the club until 1982, whenKen Bates bought the club from Mears' great-nephewBrian Mears for £1. Bates bought a controlling stake in the club and floated Chelsea on theAIM stock exchange in March 1996.[26] In the mid-1990s Chelsea fan and businessmanMatthew Harding became a director, and loaned the club £26 million to build the new North Stand and invest in new players.[29]
In July 2003,Roman Abramovich purchased just over 50% of Chelsea Village plc's share capital, including Bates' 29.5% stake, for £30 million and over the following weeks bought out most of the remaining 12,000 shareholders at 35 pence per share, completing a £140 million takeover. Other shareholders at the time of the takeover included theMatthew Harding estate (21%),BSkyB (9.9%) and various anonymous offshore trusts.[201]
At the time of the Abramovich takeover, the club had debts of around £100 million, which included a 10-year £75 millionEurobond taken out in 1997 by the Bates regime to buy the freehold of Stamford Bridge and finance the redevelopment of the stadium. The 9% interest on the loan cost the club around £7 million a year and according toBruce Buck, Chelsea were struggling to pay an instalment due in July 2003.[202] Abramovich paid off some of that debt immediately, but the outstanding £36 million on the Eurobond was not fully repaid until 2008.[203] Since then, the club had no external debt.[204]
Abramovich changed the ownership name to Chelsea FC plc, whose ultimate parent company was Fordstam Limited, which was controlled by him.[205] Chelsea were additionally funded by Abramovich via interest freesoft loans channelled through his holding company Fordstam Limited. The loans stood at £709 million in December 2009, when they were all converted toequity by Abramovich, leaving the club themselves debt free,[206][207] although the debt remained with Fordstam.[208]
Chelsea did not turn a profit in the first nine years of Abramovich's ownership, and made record losses of £140m in June 2005.[38] In November 2012, Chelsea announced a profit of £1.4 million for the year ending 30 June 2012, the first time the club had made a profit under Abramovich's ownership.[38][49] This was followed by a loss in 2013 and then their highest ever profit of £18.4 million for the year to June 2014.[50] In 2018 Chelsea announced a record after-tax profit of £62 million.[51]
Chelsea has been described as a global brand; a 2012 report by Brand Finance ranked Chelsea fifth among football brands and valued the club's brand value at US$398 million – an increase of 27% from the previous year, valuing it at US$10 million more than the sixth best brand, London rivals Arsenal – and gave the brand a strength rating of AA (very strong).[209][210] In 2016,Forbes magazine ranked Chelsea the seventh most valuable football club in the world, at £1.15 billion ($1.66 billion).[211] As of 2016[update], Chelsea was ranked eighth in theDeloitte Football Money League with an annual commercial revenue of £322.59 million.[212]
As of May 2022, Chelsea was ranked the eighth-most valuable club in the world according toForbes,[213] and eighth according to Deloitte, with an annual commercial revenue of €493.1 million.[214]
The club's recent accounting records highlight £26.6m they lost in compensation to former head coachAntonio Conte for sacking and to pay off his backroom staff and the legal costs that followed.[215]
On 26 February 2022, during theRusso-Ukrainian War, Abramovich handed over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea FC to the Chelsea Charitable Foundation.[216] Abramovich released an official statement on 2 March 2022 confirming that he was selling the club due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine.[217] Although the UK government froze Abramovich's assets in United Kingdom on 10 March due to his "close ties with Kremlin", it was made clear that the Chelsea club will be allowed to operate in terms of activities which are football related.[218] On 12 March, the Premier League disqualified Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club.[219]
On 19 March 2022, there were five confirmed bids to acquire Chelsea FC: submitted to Raine Capital which was handling the sale of the club. Some of these were a consortium led by ex-Liverpool chairman SirMartin Broughton, a group of investors led by the Ricketts family (among themJoe andPete Ricketts), Swiss and American businessmenHansjörg Wyss andTodd Boehly, Aethel Partners headed by Portuguese Ricardo Santos Silva and British businessmanNick Candy, supported by former Chelsea strikerGianluca Vialli.[220]
On 7 May, the club finally confirmed that "terms have been agreed" for a new ownership group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.[221] On 30 May, it was confirmed that the Boehly consortium had completed the purchase of the club.[222] The consortium includes Wyss andMark Walter. Walter and Boehly are also owners of theLos Angeles Dodgers, theLos Angeles Lakers, and theLos Angeles Sparks. The consortium was later known asBlueCo. The transaction had received all necessary approvals from the governments of the United Kingdom and, the Premier League, and other authorities.[223][224]
Sponsorship
Chelsea's kit has been manufactured byNike since July 2017. Previously, the kit was manufactured byAdidas, which was originally contracted to supply the club's kit from 2006 to 2018. The partnership was extended in October 2010 in a deal worth £160 million over eight years.[225] This deal was again extended in June 2013 in a deal worth £300 million over another 10 years.[226] In May 2016, Adidas announced that by mutual agreement, the kit sponsorship would end six years early on 30 June 2017.[227] Chelsea had to pay £40m in compensation to Adidas. In October 2016, Nike was announced as the new kit sponsor, in a deal worth £900m over 15 years, until 2032.[228] Previously, the kit was manufactured byUmbro (1975–81),Le Coq Sportif (1981–86), The Chelsea Collection (1986–87), Umbro (1987–2006), and Adidas (2006–2017).
Chelsea's first shirt sponsor wasGulf Air, agreed during the 1983–84 season. The club was then sponsored by Grange Farms,Bai Lin Tea andSimod before a long-term deal was signed withCommodore International in 1989;Amiga, an offshoot of Commodore, appeared on the shirts. Chelsea was subsequently sponsored byCoors beer (1994–97),Autoglass (1997–2001),Emirates (2001–05),Samsung Mobile (2005–08),Samsung (2008–15)[229][230] andYokohama Tyres (2015–20). From July 2020, Chelsea's sponsor wasThree;[231] however, it temporarily suspended its sponsorship in March 2022 in response to sanctions leveled by the UK government againstAbramovich.[232] It restored its sponsorship after the change of ownership of the club.[233]
Following the introduction of sleeve sponsors in the Premier League, Chelsea hadAlliance Tyres as its first sleeve sponsor in the2017–18 season,[234] followed byHyundai Motor Company in2018–19 season.[235] In2022–23 season, Amber Group became the new sleeve sponsor, with the flagship digital asset platform WhaleFin appearing on the sleeves of both men's and women's teams.[236]
Up until the 1950s, the club had a long-running association with themusic halls; their underachievement often provided material for comedians such asGeorge Robey.[244] It culminated in comedian Norman Long's release of acomic song in 1933, ironically titled "On the Day That Chelsea Went and Won the Cup", the lyrics of which describe a series of bizarre and improbable occurrences on the hypothetical day when Chelsea finally won a trophy.[12] InAlfred Hitchcock's 1935 filmThe 39 Steps, Mr Memory claims that Chelsea last won the Cup in 63 BC, "in the presence of theEmperorNero."[245] Scenes in a 1980 episode ofMinder were filmed during a real match at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea andPreston North End with Terry McCann (Dennis Waterman) standing on the terraces.[246]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Players to have at least one first-team appearance for Chelsea.
As of 13 March 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Chelsea operate awomen's football team,Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies. They have been affiliated to the men's team since 2004[251] and are part of the club's Community Development programme. They play their home games atKingsmeadow, formerly the home ground of theEFL League Two clubAFC Wimbledon. The club were promoted to thePremier Division for the first time in 2005 asSouthern Division champions and won the Surrey County Cup nine times between 2003 and 2013.[252] In 2010, Chelsea Ladies were one of the eight founder members of theFA Women's Super League.[253] In 2015, Chelsea Ladies won theFA Women's Cup for the first time, beatingNotts County Ladies atWembley Stadium,[254] and a month later clinched their first FA WSL title to complete a league and cup double.[255] In 2018, they won a second league and FA Cup double.[256] Two years later, in 2020, they repeated their double success by winning the third league title and theFA Women's League Cup for the first time.[257][258] In the2020–21 season, Chelsea won a domestic treble by winning the league, FA Cup and League Cup.[259] They reached the final of theUEFA Women's Champions League for the first time, losing toBarcelona 4–0.[260]
John Terry, former captain of the Chelsea men's team, is the president of Chelsea Women.[261]
^Glanvill, Rick (2006).Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. p. 196.ISBN978-0-7553-1466-9.
^Glanvill, Rick (2006).Chelsea FC: The Official Biography. pp. 84–87.
^Glanvill, Rick (2006).Chelsea FC: The Official Biography. pp. 143–157.
^"Songs | The Shed | Chelsea FC".The Shed | Chelsea FC | Join your fellow Chelsea fans to Chat, read the Rumour Mill and view the Shot of the Day photo and more. 11 October 2021.Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved1 June 2022.
^Kassies, Bert."UEFA Team Ranking 2008".UEFA European Cup Football: Results and Qualification.Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved2 June 2008.
Batty, Clive (2004).Kings of the King's Road: The Great Chelsea Team of the 60s and 70s. Vision Sports Publishing Ltd.ISBN978-0-9546428-1-5.
Batty, Clive (2005).A Serious Case of the Blues: Chelsea in the 80s. Vision Sports Publishing Ltd.ISBN978-1-905326-02-0.
Glanvill, Rick (2006).Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd.ISBN978-0-7553-1466-9.
Hadgraft, Rob (2004).Chelsea: Champions of England 1954–55. Desert Island Books Limited.ISBN978-1-874287-77-3.
Ingledew, John (2006).And Now Are You Going to Believe Us: Twenty-five Years Behind the Scenes at Chelsea FC. John Blake Publishing Ltd.ISBN978-1-84454-247-5.
Matthews, Tony (2005).Who's Who of Chelsea. Mainstream Publishing.ISBN978-1-84596-010-0.
Mears, Brian (2004).Chelsea: A 100-year History. Mainstream Sport.ISBN978-1-84018-823-3.
Mears, Brian (2002).Chelsea: Football Under the Blue Flag. Mainstream Sport.ISBN978-1-84018-658-1.
External links
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