When Sir Alex Ferguson spoke about the rising influence of agents in football more than a decade ago, many brushed it off as the grumbling of a manager who disliked the way the transfer market was evolving. Yet the latest accusations surrounding Chelsea suggest the legendary Manchester United boss may have been ahead of the curve. With 74 charges laid against the London club by the FA for breaking rules linked to agents, intermediaries, and third-party payments during Roman Abramovich’s era, Ferguson’s old concerns now sound strikingly accurate.
The battles between United and Chelsea in the 2000s were some of the most fiercely contested in English football. Ferguson had built a dynasty in Manchester, but the arrival of Abramovich’s billions shifted the balance of power overnight. Suddenly, Chelsea could outspend anyone—not just on transfer fees, but on every aspect of a deal.
Ferguson often hinted that Chelsea’s real advantage lay not only in what they paid clubs, but in the way they handled agents. After Eden Hazard chose Chelsea over United in 2012, the Scot openly questioned the financial structure of the deal. He suggested that what tipped the scales wasn’t simply the transfer fee, but the sizeable payment to the player’s representatives. For Ferguson, the sums involved weren’t just high—they distorted the market entirely.
At the time, those remarks were viewed as frustration from a manager who had lost out on a top target. But now, with allegations surfacing about irregular payments during the Abramovich reign, Ferguson’s warnings feel less like sour grapes and more like a foreshadowing of how the game was being reshaped behind closed doors.
The FA’s charges primarily cover deals carried out between 2010 and 2016, a period when Chelsea enjoyed huge success both domestically and in Europe. Transfers involving players such as Hazard, Willian, and Samuel Eto’o are among those now under scrutiny. While there is no suggestion that the footballers themselves were aware of any wrongdoing, the handling of agents’ fees and third-party arrangements is at the heart of the case.
What makes this episode even more striking is that the allegations were not uncovered by rival clubs or journalists. Instead, Chelsea’s current ownership consortium—Clearlake and Todd Boehly—flagged the issues themselves after taking over from Abramovich in 2022. According to reports, the new regime even set aside a portion of the purchase price to cover potential fines once the information was disclosed.
The club is said to be confident that any punishment will mirror the financial settlement already paid to UEFA for similar breaches. Still, a Premier League investigation remains ongoing, and the scale of the charges means uncertainty lingers over what sanctions could ultimately be imposed.
