Chelsea finances: How English football’s biggest-ever annual loss was recorded

The report doesn’t break down the loss into its component parts, but there are clues.

Uefa’s figures show Chelsea’s overall revenue was significantly lower than some of their Premier League rivals.

The Blues brought in £511m, compared to £746m for Manchester City and £744m for Liverpool.

That difference comes from a few key areas.

Chelsea’s income from ticket sales was the ninth-highest in Europe but still £28m less than Liverpool, one place ahead of them.

The average amount Chelsea made per matchday was £1.2m less than Liverpool, who again were one spot ahead.

Chelsea’s matchday revenue is restricted by the capacity of Stamford Bridge, which at 41,798 is only the 11th-biggest ground in the Premier League, 34,000 smaller than Manchester United’s Old Trafford.

The Blues also made far less in commercial revenue than some of their rivals.

They were ranked 11th for commercial revenue in Europe last year, making £207m – £5m down on the previous year.

That puts their commercial revenue £66m lower than Tottenham – the next-highest English club – and £165m lower than Manchester City, who brought in more than anyone else in the Premier League.

Chelsea also made far less from merchandising and kit sales than the five other wealthiest Premier League clubs.

They generated £83m from that revenue stream – no improvement on the previous year. That is £46m less than Spurs and £82m less than top-ranked Manchester United.

The only area in which Chelsea performed impressively in comparison to their rivals was broadcast revenue, with participation and victory in the Fifa Club World Cup boosting income to £192m, putting them second-highest on the list in Europe, behind Manchester City.