UEFA fines Chelsea, Barcelona over violations

Chelsea were fined €20 million ($23.6m) for breaking financial monitoring rules and Barcelona ordered to pay €15m ($17.7m) by UEFA on Friday.

Both clubs face higher fines in future seasons if they miss financial targets set by UEFA.

Chelsea had been under investigation for the £76.5m ($104.4m) sale of two hotels between subsidiaries of Chelsea's holding company, BlueCo 22 Ltd.

The west London club's fine matches the record €20m ($23.6m) sanction imposed in 2014 on Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain by UEFA. Those constituted the first round of penalties in the system then called financial fair play.

"The club has worked closely and transparently with UEFA to provide a full and detailed breakdown of its financial reporting, which indicates that the financial performance of the club is on a strong upwards trajectory," Chelsea said in a statement.

"Chelsea FC greatly values its relationship with UEFA and considered it important to bring this matter to a swift conclusion by entering into a settlement agreement."

In other investigations settled on Friday, UEFA fined financially troubled French club Lyon €12.5m ($14.7m) with future fines conditional on meeting targets, while Aston Villa were given a €5m ($5.8m) penalty.

The club owned by American businessman John Textor is fighting an appeal case next week against being demoted from Ligue 1 amid its financial turmoil, and it could yet be excluded by UEFA from the Europa League next season.

Information from ESPN's Mark Ogden contributed to this report.