Premier League set to ban FFP loophole exploited by Chelsea to sign Moises Caicedo

The Premier League are set to close a Financial Fair Play loophole Chelsea have benefited from this summer, it has been claimed.

On Monday, Chelsea finalised a British record £115million deal for Moises Caicedo from Brighton on a massive eight-year deal.

The Blues are also said to be close to a £50million plus add-ons move for Southampton's Romeo Lavia while Crystal Palace's Michael Olise is reportedly another target the club are pursuing.

Indeed, it is proving to be another busy window for Chelsea owner Todd Boehly. The American, alongside Clearlake Capital, broke the British transfer record back in January when Chelsea signed Argentina World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez for £106.8million.

And should a deal for Lavia be concluded it will bring the Blues' spending under Boehly's ownership to well over £800million, despite the American having only purchased the club last May.

Indeed, Chelsea have been able to spend an enormous amount of money without falling foul of FFP rules, courtesy of a loophole in Premier League rules.

Since Boehly’s arrival Chelsea have handed out several long-term contracts to spread costs. This is a form of creative accounting used to balance the books by gradually writing off the initial cost of a player over the course of their deal.

While UEFA reacted to this practice by ruling that from this summer window, clubs will be able to offer long deals but be limited to spreading out the cost of fees to a five-year period, the Premier League never made such a move.

And with Chelsea not in European competition this term, they have been able to continue exploiting the FFP loophole.

According to Mail Sport, the anomaly in accounting rules has been raised with the Premier League by several clubs and is set to be discussed at shareholders' meetings this season, with a view to a rule change being introduced for next season.

A Premier League source told the publication: "This hasn't been discussed formally, but is something we will look at. Alignment with UEFA rules would make sense for all parties. The only club currently handing out eight-year contracts on a regular basis is likely to be involved in UEFA competitions soon, as are any others that follow suit."

Though it is unclear at present whether the Premier League will change their rules, clubs aspiring to play in UEFA competitions will already have to consider this issue as they would need to be in line with those competitions' amortisation regulations.

The Premier League declined to comment to MailSport's claim. The Premier League declined to comment when contacted by SPORTbible.