Gary Neville has described Chelsea’s eight year contracts as “mad” and believes they could be harming the motivation of the club’s young players.
Long term deals have been a feature for Chelsea since Todd Boehly and Clearlake took over the club, with many new signings penning seven or eight year deals.
Enzo Fernandez’s deal doesn’t expire until 2031, whilst Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson are both tied down to eight year deals at Stamford Bridge following their arrivals last summer.
Among the other players to sign lengthy contracts are Malo Gusto, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Benoit Badiashile.
The idea behind the long term deals was to help the Blues with Financial Fair Play rules by spreading the cost of the player over the length of the deal, a loop hole which has subsequently been closed.
However, Neville feels a young player who believes they are “genuinely rich” won’t give everything for the cause.
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast about the steps Chelsea need to take he said:
“They need good, experienced signings, they can’t be going down the route of eight-year signings.
“Eight-year contracts are bad in many ways because I just don’t think they make sense. But they’re actually not good for a young player.
“The money is big as well and you think you’ve got an eight-year contract as a young 21 or 22-year-old, the club might think they’ve got security over you but the young player thinks: “I am rich, I genuinely am rich.”
“For some that’s a problem, it just affects their mindset.
“What is the motivation? For yourself and for your family, you hope that’s the motivation. For your team-mates and for your manager, doing the right thing.
“But then you do sometimes think, after a year or eight months, “I need to fight for that new contract, I’ve only got three years left or two years left.”
‘”They’ve got seven years left some of them! Those contracts are mad in every single way.
“Forget FFP and all that stuff that went on, forget the fact that if they make a mistake, you’re stuck with them for a long time.
“Just for the young player themselves, to think they have that comfort.”
