United Inc: Chelsea Cheating and Crude Chaos

From No Question About That - a Manchester United podcast by Studio 1878

March 19, 2026 · 48 min · Episode 989

About this episode

Ed and Jamie discuss Chelsea's undisclosed payments and the implications for the Premier League and Manchester United.

#989 | Ed and Jamie discuss a Premier League settlement with Chelsea over £47 million worth of undisclosed, off-book payments to players, agents and third parties from 20011–2018, involving names including Samuel Eto’o, Eden Hazard and David Luiz. The £10m fine and suspended transfer/youth-player bans show inconsistent rule enforcement versus PSR points deductions for clubs like Everton and could weaken the Premier League’s position in Manchester City’s case, while signalling cooperation and ownership change can reduce sporting sanctions. It's incredibly lenient. There's an examination of how a Gulf-wide conflict has driven crude oil from about $65 to ~$105, pressuring INEOS’ thin-margin, highly leveraged petrochemicals business, potentially delaying or complicating refinancing at INEOS and United amid reduced prospects of Fed interest rate cuts. The conversation finishes on the potential impact around United's new stadium in a high-rate, high-cost environment. 00:00 Introduction 03:09 Chelsea's Off-Book Payments 07:09 Premier League's Lenient Penalty 17:45 Implications for Man City's Case 20:23 The Abramovich Fund 22:15 War in the Gulf and Oil Price Shock 28:33 Impact on…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ed, Jamie

Topics covered

Chelsea off-book payments
Premier League penalties
Manchester City case
oil price impact
INEOS refinancing
Manchester United stadium

Keywords

Chelsea
Premier League
Manchester City
INEOS
oil prices
refinancing
stadium challenges

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chelsea, Premier League, Everton, INEOS, Manchester City, Abramovich Fund

Places: Gulf