A loophole in the financial fair play rules that has been used by Chelsea to sign players on contracts of up to eight-and-a-half years to spread the impact of transfer spending "is to be closed" by UEFA. Officials at the governing body plan to "set a five-year maximum for the length of time over which a player’s transfer fee can be spread," with the new policy brought in before the summer transfer window. The move reportedly comes after "a number of clubs raised concerns" with UEFA over Chelsea’s policy. Winger Mykhailo Mudryk this month signed "the longest contract in the 30-year history of the Premier League" when he joined Chelsea on an eight-and-a-half-year deal. Under amortization, the £80M ($99M) fee would be recorded as £9.41M ($11.7M) per year for UEFA's FFP calculations. If Mudryk had signed a four-year deal, the £80M fee would be calculated as £20M ($24.8M) per year. UEFA will not prevent Chelsea from "spreading the cost of the players they have signed already" (LONDON TIMES, 1/23).
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