Chelsea's Kenyon says EU regulation not needed in U.K. soccer

English soccer doesn't need regulation from the European Union, Chelsea Chief Executive Peter Kenyon said Monday.

French sports minister Bernard Laporte last week said foreign ownership in the Premier League goes against the spirit of sport. He wants the EU to address dominance of the Champions League by English clubs, which have supplied five finalists in the past four years.

Laporte didn't specify what form the intervention would take, amid media reports it could mean a pan-European sports super-regulator. Kenyon, whose club is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, doesn't see the need.

"Major football leagues and clubs feel the addition of regulation domestically is not required," he said Monday at a news conference to announce a four-year sponsorship extension with Thomas Cook Group Plc as the west London team's official travel partner. "We've got a great product, we are well regulated. In the end, we are well run."

Billionaires such as Abramovich, the Glazer family at Manchester United and Manchester City's Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment have helped make the Premier League the world's richest. That's led to success on the field, as Chelsea, United and Liverpool took three of the four semifinal spots in last year's Champions League.

Abramovich had put about 560 million pounds ($840 million) into Chelsea since acquiring the club in 2003 and has helped it become one of the best-known teams in the world. Under his ownership, the Blues have enjoyed the most successful period in their history, winning back-to-back league titles and reaching the Champions League final last season.

Chelsea's debt has come from interest-free funds from Abramovich — whose wealth was estimated at 11.7 billion pounds by the Sunday Times in April — and Kenyon says that sets the club apart from others.

"Our debt is different because its internal, not external," he said. "We're different from other clubs."

Still, he feels the sport is not exempt from the global economic slowdown.

"We're entering a different world of finances," Kenyon said. "I think we've got challenges ahead of us. We have to realize football is not immune to what's going on in the world."