Sir Alex Ferguson made £6m Chelsea accusation 13 years before 74 charges

After 74 charges were thrown at Chelsea by the FA, many may remember a previous quote Sir Alex Ferguson made about the Blues when he was still Manchester United manager

If anyone wasn’t taken aback by the 74 charges recently thrown at Chelsea, it’s Sir Alex Ferguson. The FA announced they have placed 74 charges for breaking rules around agent, intermediary and third-party payments on the west Londoners, which took place throughout Roman Abramovich’s 19-year reign at Stamford Bridge.

Ferguson, 83, retired with 13 Premier League titles under his belt, but he might have bagged more if Abramovich and his billions hadn’t taken the reins at the Blues. United frequently found themselves in transfer bidding wars with Chelsea, who seemed to enter every window with a hefty transfer war chest.

But while coughing up transfer fees to clubs was challenging enough, Ferguson once claimed the Blues were outbidding the Red Devils for players by lining their agents’ pockets.

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In 2012, after Chelsea pipped United to the post in signing Eden Hazard, Ferguson said: “There is a borderline in terms of what you would think is a good signing for United. I see some values on players, like Hazard for instance.

“To me it was a lot of money. He’s a good player, but £34m? What we’re finding anyway, the climate for buying these top players – not just the transfer fees, the salaries, agents’ fees – is just getting ridiculous now.

“In the Hazard deal, Chelsea paid the agent £6m. The [Samir] Nasri situation was the same. It’s all about what you think is value for a player. I am not envious of those deals at all. We placed a value on Hazard which was well below what they were talking about.”

When he revealed his decision to reject United for Chelsea, Hazard made no reference to Ferguson’s allegation, claiming he opted for Stamford Bridge after the Blues triumphed in the Champions League in 2012. He said: “I’ve always said I wanted to play in England.

“There was a struggle between Chelsea and United, but according to me Chelsea has the best project. I was in advanced contact with both clubs and I spoke to both coaches.

“I want to be playing in the Champions League every year. When they won the Champions League, I told myself: ‘Why not Chelsea?’ The team is young and I have a better chance to play there.”

The Blues’ £34m capture of Hazard is amongst numerous transfers which have been highlighted. Other deals which have come under scrutiny include the arrivals of Samuel Eto’o and Willian in 2013, though it has been emphasised there is no evidence the players knew of any misconduct at the time.

According to the Telegraph, the supposed payments raised by Ferguson were disclosed by figures within the Clearlake-Boehly consortium, who acquired the Blues from Abramovich in 2022. They were subsequently self-reported by the current ownership to UEFA, the Premier League and the FA, which allegedly led the new owners to hold back £100m from the agreed £2.5bn purchase in case they faced any financial penalties.

Chelsea are reportedly confident they will only be hit with a fine similar to the £8m settlement they paid to UEFA, who also probed the offences. Their confidence stems from the fact they self-reported the infringements and allowed investigators access to their files.

It’s understood a Premier League investigation is also ongoing into the matter. The FA charges primarily concern transfers conducted between the 2010-11 season and the 2015-16 season, a period in which the Blues clinched the Premier League, the Champions League, the Europa League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.

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