Chelsea F.C.

From 20 March 2004 to 26 October 2008, Chelsea went a record 86 consecutive league matches at home without defeat, beating the previous record of 63 matches unbeaten set by Liverpool between 1978 and 1980. Chelsea hold the English record for the fewest goals conceded during a league season (15), the highest number of clean sheets overall in a Premier League season (25) (both set during the ),). Chelsea are the only Premier League side to win their opening nine league games of the season, doing so in matches (excluding penalty shoot-outs).[127]

On 25 August 1928, Chelsea, along with Arsenal, became the first club to play with shirt numbers, in their match against . on 19 April 1957, on 27 January 1974. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first British side to field an entirely foreign (no British or Irish players) in a Premier League match against ., having also been the last to win it at the old Wembley. system in the 21st century. Chelsea are the only London club to win the . Upon winning the , Chelsea became the first English club to and the only club to hold the Champions League and the Europa League at the same time.[135]

Chelsea have twice broken the record for the . Their £30.8 million purchase of from in June 2006 was a British record until surpassed by the £32.5 million paid by Manchester City for in September 2008. The club's £50 million purchase of from Liverpool in January 2011 signed for Manchester United in August 2014 for £59.7 million. in August 2018 remains a .[140]

Chelsea Football Club were founded by in 1905. After his death in 1912, his descendants continued to own the club until 1982, when bought the club from Mears' great-nephew for £1. Bates bought a controlling stake in the club and floated Chelsea on the stock exchange in March 1996. became a director and loaned the club £26 million to build the new North Stand and invest in new players.[142]

In July 2003, purchased just over 50% of Chelsea Village plc's share capital, including Bates' 29.5% stake, for £30 million and over the following weeks bought out most of the remaining 12,000 shareholders at 35 pence per share, completing a £140 million takeover. Other shareholders at the time of the takeover included the estate (21%), (9.9%) and various anonymous offshore trusts.[143] After passing the 90% share threshold, Abramovich took the club back into private hands, delisting it from the AIM on 22 August 2003.

At the time of the Abramovich takeover, the club also had debts of around £100 million, which included a ten-year £75 million taken out in 1997 by the Bates regime to buy the freehold of Stamford Bridge and finance the redevelopment of the stadium. The 9% interest on the loan cost the club around £7 million a year and according to , Chelsea were struggling to pay an instalment due in July 2003. Since then, the club have had no external debt.[146]

Abramovich changed the ownership name to Chelsea FC plc, whose ultimate parent company is Fordstam Limited, which is controlled by him. channelled through his holding company Fordstam Limited. The loans stood at £709 million in December 2009, when they were all converted to by Abramovich, leaving the club themselves debt free, although the debt remains with Fordstam.[150]

Chelsea did not turn a profit in the first nine years of Abramovich's ownership, and made record losses of £140m in June 2005. In 2018 Chelsea announced a record after-tax profit of £62 million.[154]

Chelsea have been described as a global brand; a 2012 report by ranked Chelsea fifth among football brands and valued the club's brand value at US$398 million – an increase of 27% from the previous year, also valuing them at US$10 million more than the sixth best brand, London rivals Arsenal – and gave the brand a strength rating of AA (very strong). In 2016, magazine ranked Chelsea the seventh most valuable football club in the world, at £1.15 billion ($1.66 billion)., Chelsea are ranked eighth in the with an annual commercial revenue of £322.59 million.[158]

The club's recent accounting records highlight £26.6m they have lost in compensation to former head coach for sacking and to pay off his backroom staff and the legal costs that followed.[159]

Chelsea's kit has been manufactured by since July 2017. Previously, the kit was manufactured by , which was originally contracted to supply the club's kit from 2006 to 2018. The partnership was extended in October 2010 in a deal worth £160 million over eight years. In May 2016, Adidas announced that by mutual agreement, the kit sponsorship would end six years early on 30 June 2017. Previously, the kit was manufactured by (1975–81), (1981–86), The Chelsea Collection (1986–87), Umbro (1987–2006), and Adidas (2006–2017).

Chelsea's first shirt sponsor was , agreed during the 1983–84 season. The club were then sponsored by Grange Farms, and before a long-term deal was signed with in 1989; , an offshoot of Commodore, also appeared on the shirts. Chelsea were subsequently sponsored by beer (1994–97), (1997–2001), (2001–05), (2005–08), (2008–15). and (2015–20). Worth £40 million per year, the deal is second in English football to 's £50 million-per-year sponsorship of Manchester United., starting from July 2020.[166]

Following the introduction of sleeve sponsors in the Premier League, Chelsea had as their first sleeve sponsor in the ., they have as the new sleeve sponsor., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Ole777, , , , , , and .

In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films, ., who by then was playing for , was the star of the film and several scenes were shot at , including on the pitch, the boardroom, and the . It included guest appearances by then-Chelsea players , , and ., a associated with the club, Chelsea have also featured in films about football , including 2004's . film . comedy series Nijesmo mi od juče made an episode in which Chelsea play against for qualification of the .[175]

Up until the 1950s, the club had a long-running association with the ; their underachievement often provided material for comedians such as . in 1933, ironically titled "On the Day That Chelsea Went and Won the Cup", the lyrics of which describe a series of bizarre and improbable occurrences on the hypothetical day when Chelsea finally won a trophy.'s 1935 film , Mr Memory claims that Chelsea last won the Cup in 63 BC, "in the presence of the ." were filmed during a real match at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and with Terry McCann (played by ) standing on the terraces.[178]

The song "" was released as a single in the build-up to the , with all members of Chelsea's first team squad singing; it reached number five in the . (as "White is the Colour") (as "Green is the Colour")., the song "Blue Day", performed by and members of the Chelsea squad, reached number 22 in the UK charts.[182]

Chelsea also operate a team, , formerly known as Chelsea Ladies. They have been affiliated to the men's team since 2004, the home ground of the club . The club were promoted to the for the first time in 2005 as champions and won the Surrey County Cup nine times between 2003 and 2013.. for the first time, beating at , title to complete a league and cup double. Two years later in 2020, they repeated their double success by winning the third league title and league cup for the first time. , former captain of the Chelsea men's team, is the President of Chelsea Women.[191]

Squad

Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Under-23s and Academy

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The following managers won at least one trophy when in charge of Chelsea:

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Chelsea FC plc is the company which owns Chelsea Football Club. The ultimate parent company of Chelsea FC plc is Fordstam Limited and the ultimate controlling party of Fordstam Limited is .[197]

Chelsea Ltd.

Chelsea F.C. plc Board[197]

Executive Board[197]

Life President