It wasn't that long ago when Financial Fair Play was knocking on the door of Chelsea. The west London side had become synonymous for spending big in the transfer market, flexing their financial muscles so as to lure stars to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have many times received the backing of Russian billionaire and owner Roman Abramovic to break the bank in order to build an all-conquering European side. A look at the club's transfer transactions over the years do little to refute this claim, with the Blues signing Ramires, Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, and Oscar in the span of two years, from 2010 to 2012.
Cue the return of the special one Jose Mourinho, and little expected change to occur. The Portuguese tactician himself has never shied away from spending big in order to sign big.
While FFP saw English Premier League champions Manchester City slapped with sanctions and restrictions in the two seasons Mourinho has been in charge, the 52-year-old boss has shrewdly worked the transfer market in order balance the books at Chelsea whilst still strengthening his squad.
Chelsea evaded FFP, and this is solely thanks to their manager. Despite signing Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, and Filipe Luis last summer, Mourinho has freed up a whopping €180m in an overhaul over the last year.
Last January alone, the current league leaders racked in €65m from the sale of Juan Mata to Manchester United (for €45m) and Kevin De Bruyne to Wolfsburg (for €20m). Last summer, the Blues earned another €85m from the sale of Romelu Lukaku (€35m) and David Luiz (€50m) to Everton and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.
This January transfer window, which closed on Monday, saw the arrival of Colombian attacker Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentino for a reported €35m, and in similar fashion, Jose raised funds by cashing in on another bench warmer, this time in the form of German forward Andre Schurrle, who was shipped out to Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg for €32m.
Mourinho has smartly done his business and has become the king of the transfer market, and with Chelsea reportedly eying moves for Raphael Varane, Marco Reus and Lionel Messi, it will be interesting to see how the Chelsea boss goes about the upcoming transfer windows.
