European football’s governing body UEFA are set to close a loophole used by Chelsea to beat financial fair play rules, according to The Times.

Since Todd Boehly bought Chelsea, the Blues have signed players on contracts of up to 8½ years to spread the impact of the club’s transfer spending.

UEFA now 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. 

Under a process called amortisation — the process of writing off the initial cost of a player — the £80 million fee would be recorded as £9.41 million per year for Uefa’s FFP calculations while if Mudryk had signed a four-year deal the £80 million fee would be calculated as £20 million per year.

Uefa will not prevent Chelsea from spreading the cost of the players the Blues have signed already.

The new rule to set a five-year maximum for the length of time over which a player’s transfer fee can be spread was made by UEFA after a number of clubs raised concerns with Uefa over Chelsea’s policy.