Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League last night to Real Madrid, losing the tie 4-0 on aggregate.
Not only did this leave the club and the owners hugely disappointed, it also ended the last chance Chelsea have of reaching next years Champions League competition, because their league position means they have no chance of qualifying for it that way.
Aleksander Mitrovic wants to join Chelsea?
The players were gutted, and maybe some of them now are going to be concerned about having their wages deducted!
Because according to The Telegraph, there will be wage reductions of up to 30% for some players due to Chelsea not qualifying.
The new owners introduced a new bonus system after buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich. A number of players who joined Chelsea or who have signed new contracts since the takeover agreed to a variable salary scheme that saw a portion of their wages, as much as 30 per cent in some cases, tied to Champions League qualification.
Chelsea latest #cfc:
* Excl – Enrique NOT placed among leading candidates (poss boost to #thfc chances)
* Chelsea cut down list ahead of new talks
* Nagelsmann and Poch contacted
* CL elimination means wage reductions for someDetails here: https://t.co/a1vpOA1Ope
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) April 19, 2023
So, for all the naysayers who’ve criticized the new ownership because they’ve tried to bring new thinking to English football, I’m waiting to hear your take on this incentive-based approach to player salaries. The level of effort and commitment we saw between the weekend loss to Brighton and Tuesday night couldn’t have been more night and day. One hopes it had mostly to do with pride, coaching, and the importance of the match, but knowing you’re literally playing for a payday doesn’t hurt to keep players focused and is smart business for the club since missing out on UCL football means a big hit to revenues. The owners deserve credit for introducing a savvy approach to the club’s business.
The wage bill wouldn’t be so high if the squad wasn’t so bloated and we wouldn’t have crashed if we didn’t de-register the one striker we have in the squad. We need goals and we are wasting Aubameyang the way we wasted Giroud (who by the way is still in the UCL)