New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly urges club to respect UEFA's financial fair play rules

Chelsea has a new owner in the form of Todd Boehly. However, he would not splash money in the transfer market, as he vows to respect UEFA's financial fair play laws.

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Todd Boehly of the United States of America (USA) has gained total control over Chelsea and is officially the club's new owner, having taken over from Roman Abramovich of Russia for $3.2 billion. While The Blues and their fans expect hefty activity in the transfer market ahead of the upcoming season, they might not want to get their hopes high. While Boehly can splash millions in the transfer market if he desires, he wants to respect the financial fair play (FFP) restrictions imposed by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for all clubs. While he has warned Chelsea to follow the same, he has also urged all clubs to honour the FFP rules.

During the SuperReturn International in Berlin, Boehly noted, "Financial fair play is starting to get some teeth, and that will limit the ability to acquire players at any price. UEFA takes it seriously and will continue to take it seriously. [More teeth] means financial penalties and disqualification from sporting competitions."

"We think the global footprint of this sport is undeveloped. There are four billion fans of European football. There are 170 million fans of the NFL. Global club football is a fraction of the NFL media money. We are also going to be thinking about how we get more revenue for the players?" added Boehly, reports Fotmob.

"If you look at LeBron James [of NBA's Los Angeles Lakers], for example, he has a whole business and a whole team dedicated to what's not on the court. So, I think there is an opportunity to capture some American mentality into English sports and develop them," Boehly concluded.