CHELSEA players face a hit of up to £2MILLION each if they fail to qualify for the Champions League by the backdoor.
Even if Aston Villa do overturn the 1-0 Europa League semi-final deficit against Nottingham Forest on Thursday, win the final AND finish fifth in the Premier League, it is hard to see the Blues doing enough to finish sixth and snatch a seat on the gravy train..
Enzo Fernandez is among the Chelsea stars facing a big pay cut Credit: Alamy
Cole Palmer failed to convert a penalty as Chelsea’s top-five hopes ended against Forest Credit: Getty
So the contractual clauses which are understood to reduce player wages by between £30,000 and £40,000 per week in the event of a lack of CL football are highly likely to be activated.
Say what you like about chiefs – and everyone is – but at least they seem to have this aspect of the club under control.
The reason why there has been such panic at Tottenham about the prospect of relegation is Spurs players do NOT have provision in their deals for a pay cut if they go down.
Nevertheless, and despite Blues bosses being bullish about the club being on a firm financial footing, cutting the wage bill will not cover the whole cost of failure.
Chelsea will have made the best part of £100m by returning to the Champions League this season, taking into account prize money, extra matchday revenue and bonuses from sponsors.
In contrast, winning the Conference League last season brought in about £15m in prize money for the Blues, while Europa League champions Tottenham earned about £21m.
Every Chelsea star will have unique terms. Club captain , for instance, signed a contract extension in March which reduced his basic wage from the £250,000 per week deal signed in the early months of the current regime, and put him more in line with the highly-incentivised packages now favoured by the club..
The Blues’ prospects of reaching the CL were much brighter then.
Chelsea captain Reece James recently signed a new deal on a lower basic wage Credit: Getty
But even if 25 Blues players took a pay cut of £40k a week each – roughly £2m a year – it would be a saving of only £50m. A good start, but not filling the hole completely.
Especially as some of the club’s commercial deals may include cuts in payments in the event of not being in the CL. Manchester United faced a penalty of £10m in their adidas contract after last season failing to qualify for the second year in a row.
You also have to bear in mind Chelsea earned about £85m in prize money from winning the Club World Cup.
Some of that sum was included in the accounts for the 2024-5 season, but the majority will be reckoned up in this year’s figures.
The Blues paid out nearly £11.5m of that in bonuses to players – including the generous gesture to the family of Liverpool player Diogo Jota after his sudden death during the tournament – but again there will be a big drop in income.
Pre-season tour matches in Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia, with more games to come, will bring in some cash but not enough to make up for the one-off CWC bonanza.
For all the confidence coming out of , there is no denying failure to reach the Champions League is a big financial blow.
It remains to be seen whether the club does indeed record revenue of about £700m, by far a club record, for this season. It is certainly the case Chelsea will not be in immediate danger of breaching the terms of their Uefa settlement relating to previous losses or of breaking regulations in the final year of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, before the change to a Squad Cost Ratio system.
Chelsea’s windfall from the Club World Cup will not be repeated in next year’s accounts Credit: Reuters
Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer scored in the final as the Blues earned £85m prize money Credit: Getty
But some financial experts simply cannot see how the club will stay within the limits on losses imposed by Uefa for years two and three of the four-year agreement.
Breaches would attract extra fines on top of the initial £26.7m penalty. And if losses exceeded a certain amount, Chelsea would be banned for European competition for a year.
This has led some to say the club would be better off telling Uefa they are likely to breach the settlement and accepting a ban from the Europa League or Conference League next season – as Juventus and AC Milan have done in the past.
Instead of trying to muddle on and risk being banned for a season when they have qualified for Champions League.
But that assumes the Blues qualify for either of Uefa’s less competitions.
And club chiefs are in any case adamant they will not break the terms of the settlement, no matter what, and so the idea of “accepting” a pre-emptive ban is irrelevant.
Nor, they say, will Chelsea need or want to sell key players like or this summer to raise money.
Palmer said in a recent interview “everything changes” without CL football. Not everything, but a lot, including his pay packet.
So he and his team-mates need to be Villa fans for the rest of the season and do all they can to finish sixth.
Cole Palmer knows Chelsea will have plenty to ponder if they are out of the CL Credit: GETTY
Pedro, Fernandez and Marc Cucurella had a break in Madrid ahead of the Forest defeat Credit: Getty
NOT UP FOR THE CUP
IT will be very interesting to see how many Chelsea fans take part in the next protest, planned for Wembley Way on FA Cup final day.
The NotAProjectCFC group, encouraged by the success of last month’s march to Stamford Bridge before the Manchester United defeat, are organising further demonstrations around the showpiece clash with Manchester City – and the home game with Spurs three days later.
David Cook, one of the NAPCFC leaders, said winning the cup would make no difference to the feelings of him and like-minded supporters.
Cook told SunSport: “The achievements of last season, where we qualified for the Champions League and won two less renowned trophies, have been followed by significant regression due to a failure to adapt or evolve from the restrictive model that is in place.
“At no stage in the last four seasons have we come close to winning a Premier League title. We have qualified for the Champions League once.
“We believe a Wembley cup final is an ideal opportunity to march towards what is recognised as the home of football in England.
“What we relate to as home no longer feels like home because of the destruction of our club by Blueco, Clearlake Capital, Behdad Eghbali, Jose Felicano, and the sporting directors.
“We look forward to this protest and the demonstration in the game against Tottenham, which we hope will help address concerns of match-going fans who have not felt comfortable protesting outside the stadium up to this point.
“These actions will not cease until we have forced change.”
Chelsea fans first protested against club bosses back in January Credit: AFP
The NotAProjectCFC group has announced plans for two more protests Credit: Alamy
The group is asking fans to march from Wembley Park tube station up Wembley Way before the 3pm kick off on May 16.
It feels significant there will be more focus on the role of senior football staff in the forthcoming protests.
The reality is the BlueCo ownership consortium, majority shareholders Clearlake, and Clearlake co-founders Eghbali and Feliciano, are going nowhere.
But it might well be the case, after what the club has called a “period of self-reflection”, the money men find scapegoats among the not-so-Fab Four consisting of co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, co-director of recruitment and talent Joe Shields, and director of global recruitment Sam Jewell.
All four were given contract extensions last summer after what was hailed at the time as a very successful window of buying and selling.
Whoever the new head coach of Chelsea is, and whatever additional influence he may be given in an adjustment of the overall philosophy, the relationship with those above him will be crucial.
After the cup final protest, the powers that be will have to face down in-game action during the match against Tottenham.
NAPCFC are proposing fans turn their back on the game in the 22nd minute – marking BlueCo’s 2022 takeover – and sing, “We want our Chelsea back” for a minute.
If enough supporters do it, the TV audience, as well as those in Stamford Bridge, will see and hear the strength of feeling loud and clear.
Fans marched to Stamford Bridge before April’s home defeat by Manchester United
MEDIA BLACKOUT
As Saturday’s game against Nottingham Forest entered its dying minutes, the monitors in the press box suddenly switched away from live coverage of the match to Sky Sports News.
It was probably due to the screens automatically or accidentally being tuned to the wrong channel after an afternoon of long stoppages for injuries.
But it felt like a comment on what was happening on the pitch.
More worryingly for the club, thousands of home fans also missed scoring one of the best goals of Chelsea’s season in stoppage time.
The gaps in the stands long before the final whistle were shocking, even by the standards of a wretched season at Stamford Bridge.
Some supporters did yell abuse towards the home bench as they left. There was some mild booing at half time and at the end, and a few anti-Clearlake Capital/Behdad Eghbali chants.
Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah stands shellshocked after Forest’s third goal Credit: AFP
Chelsea winger Jesse Derry was later taken off on a stretcher after a clash of heads Credit: PA
But maybe the most noticeable thing was how low-energy even the discontent was, matching the lack of commitment by the players.
Days like that are becoming the norm at the Bridge.
Chelsea say on their website their ground holds “around 40,000” fans but they have not recorded a 40,000 attendance for some time now.
Reconfiguration of seating in some areas is blamed for that.
And doubtless there is a long waiting list for season tickets.
But during games like the Forest defeat, you wonder how the Blues would fill the 60,000-seater stadium they need to compete with their rivals.
Old-school fans will suspect the answer is: by bringing in more daytrippers, overseas fans and rich people willing to pay for experiences like The Tunnel Club, where tickets are thousands of pounds a pop.
HE DE-ZERBS NOTHING!
NOTTINGHAM Forest B were not the only ones to get the red carpet treatment at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Some Chelsea fans were angry to see Tottenham boss chatting to Blues director of global recruitment in an executive box in the West Stand.
Chelsea chiefs Paul Winstanley and Sam Jewell with Roberto De Zerbi at Stamford Bridge Credit: Getty
De Zerbi will be back at the Bridge on May 19 with relegation-threatened Tottenham Credit: PA
One fan said on X: “Why the f*** is De Zerbi in the Chelsea box with our director Sam Jewell when he’s the manager of Tottenham? Our club has been destroyed.”
It is of course normal for managers to be given seats at rivals’ matches for scouting purposes.
Spurs travel to the Bridge on May 19 for a match likely to be crucial to their chances of staying in the Premier League.
De Zerbi knows Jewell from their time at Brighton. The Italian replaced Chelsea-bound Graham Potter in September 2022 and at the same time Jewell became head of recruitment for the Seagulls, with Paul Winstanley having also moved to the Blues.
Jewell, son of former PL manager Paul, held the role until he too was tempted to the Bridge.
In 2023, De Zerbi said of Jewell: “He’s a top guy, my friend.
“He worked very well in the last transfer market.
“He’s very young, but he has a big talent, big passion.
“He knows all players in the world… like me!”
Chelsea fans should be less concerned about the old friends meeting up on Saturday than about Jewell living up to De Zerbi’s glowing assessment of his abilities.
De Zerbi, like Winstanley and Jewell, was once employed by Brighton Credit: Getty
Jewell during his time as head of recruitment at Brighton Credit: Photograph: BHAFC
COACH TRIP
A trip to Sunderland for a 4pm kick off on a Sunday is never the most appealing prospect.
Especially after a season like the one Chelsea fans have endured.
And the club has recognised this by slashing the cost of official travel to the game on the last day of the season.
A seat on the coach can cost up to £50 per fan.
But on May 24, it will be just £15 as the Blues aim to take up their full allocation of 3,110 tickets at the Stadium of Light.
The gesture also reflects the extra challenges of reaching the North East by train on the Bank Holiday weekend.
There will be no Grand Central services to and from Sunderland at all, with many other trains replaced by buses and general mayhem on the network.
All in all, it is hardly an appealing prospect for Chelsea fans, even though the team have won more Premier League points on the road this season than at Stamford Bridge.
Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor scored the equaliser at Stamford Bridge in October Credit: Getty
Chemsdine Talbi grabbed Sunderland’s late winner in the reverse fixtures Credit: Offside via Getty Images
DELUDED, YOU ARE
CHELSEA will be winning at least one prize this season: most hapless official social media message.
At 4.17pm UK time on Monday, the team were 3-0 down to Nottingham Forest.
But the club’s official X account in the USA decided it was a good time to put out a lame post linking the Blues to “Star Wars Day” – May 4.
Cole Palmer and were depicted as Jedi knights holding light sabres.
The caption read: “The force is still strong. The fight continues.”
Not on the pitch, it didn’t, as Forest won comfortably.
Chelsea’s official X account in the US chose a bad time to post this seemingly AI generated image Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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