Explanation: Why Chelsea is banned from participating in the Champions League even if it enters the top five

There is something in the football circle recently that I think is worth talking about, which is the issue of Chelsea's Champions League qualification. They are now ranked fifth in the league, and they have the chance to get a seat in the Champions League next season, so the rules have changed. But the problem is that even if they really keep this ranking in the end and even rush up, I don’t think this qualification for the Champions League is stable.

Why do you say so? I studied it and found that there are two main obstacles that are crossing there.

The first one is their ledger. UEFA Financial Fairness Act (FFP) is the hurdle. It is said that UEFA is staring at Chelsea's accounts, especially some of the assets they have done before, such as selling women's football or hotels to their own affiliates. Is this money considered a formal income? It seems that there is a question on UEFA. To be simple, they want to make the books look good by selling assets to "owners", but UEFA may not approve of this operation. If this problem is found, the fine will be lighter and the European competition will be banned directly if it is severe, and the European Championship will naturally be out of reach.

The second trouble is more direct and has something to do with their boss. Chelsea's boss is Burleigh. This group of people not only have Chelsea, they also hold Strasbourg in France. What's interesting about this season is that Strasbourg performed well in Ligue 1 and actually had the opportunity to compete for the Champions League qualification. There is a black and white text in the UEFA rule. The same boss cannot have two teams participating in the same European competition at the same time, unless you give control of one of the teams to a "blind trust" and open completely independently.

is now embarrassing. If Strasbourg really enters the Champions League and Chelsea also qualifies through the league ranking, then according to UEFA regulations, there can only be one team. In terms of priority, the one with the highest ranking in the league is usually preferred, but if both sides can go, Chelsea may be squeezed out. In other words, they may need a higher ranking, such as protecting four and fighting three, to be more insecure.

I think this is quite reflecting the complexity of capital operations in the football world and the subsequent rules and challenges. After spending a lot of money, the qualification may be suspended due to these off-market factors, which makes this deal a little awkward no matter how you look at it.

Of course, Chelsea must be communicating with UEFA and finding a way to solve the problem. Manchester United and Nice seemed to have encountered similar situations before, and finally Manchester United made an equity adjustment to resolve the issue. So whether Chelsea can find a way out depends on how to operate in the future. No one dared to make a 100% promise, but at least, it seems that they are not going down to the Champions League.