Premier League champions Chelsea announced a pre-tax loss of £140m sterling for the year to the end of June 2005. The figure is an increase of 60% on the previous 12 months when the club posted an £87.8m loss.
Despite the loss, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said the club, which is bankrolled by Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, is on course to break even by the 2009-10 season.
'With continued success on the field and the resulting growth stemming from that of our fan base, memberships and revenues, we are confident of achieving our targets,' Kenyon said in a statement on the club's website.
He said the loss was exacerbated by a series of one-off items, including the £25.5m termination of their contract with sportswear company Umbro, and more than £20m written off in the value of two players, Adrian Mutu and Juan Sebastien Veron.
Chelsea are closing in on their second successive title, after ending a 50-year wait last season. They are currently 14 points clear with 15 matches to play.
However, that domination has come at a huge cost in player purchases. In the year to June 2005 they spent £101m on new players, although that was significantly less than the £175.1m lavished the previous year.
