Kenyon: 'Chelsea debt is different'

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Channel 4 News

Kenyon: 'Chelsea debt is different'

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has rejected speculation the club's spending power would be affected by the economic downturn.

Despite warnings over the amount of debt in English football, and claims owner Roman Abramovich has lost billions on the Russian stock market, Kenyon remains bullish about the London club's finances.

He said the worsening economic climate is likely to affect Chelsea's rivals far more than it does Stamford Bridge.

He said: "Our debt is different. It's internal as opposed to external - and it's non-interest bearing.

"It is part of a long-standing commitment by our owner to support Chelsea football club.

"You have to look at each individual case, you can't just say that everyone is run badly and everyone is in trouble."

According to the last set of accounts Chelsea's debt stands at a record £736m; but Kenyon said his club is better placed than some of its rivals.

He said: "I think we are in a different position to other clubs who have got debt, and that's certainly an advantage to us.

"Debt is an instrument that every single business operates with. There's nothing wrong with debt, it is the inability to repay that's the problem. That's where the balance takes place.

"It's subtle maybe but it's reality."

Lord Triesman, the chairman of the FA, voiced concerns that English football clubs were a collective £3bn in debt last month.

While in the same month it was also claimed Roman Abramovich had lost billions on the Russian stock exchange, as the index went into freefall.

Kenyon said: "I think we have got some challenging times ahead, and we must not lose sight of the fact that football is not immune from what's going on in the rest of the economy.

"But football clubs are generally well run and I'm confident that the right steps will be taken.

"The other side of that is that a lot of football revenue is locked in from TV contracts - it is secure."

He added that Chelsea would be in a position to sign new players in January, should the right targets become available.