Chelsea’s executives gave themselves an almost 80% pay increase last season, according to the club’s newly released financial accounts. That news came at a bad time, with the team sixth in the Premier League and supporters already furious about the direction of the project under BlueCo.
The accounts for Chelsea FC Holdings Limited reveal that “key management personnel” collected a combined £10.6m during the 2024-25 campaign. The previous year’s figure was £5.9m. Directors of the holding company went from £2.2m to £3.5m, and club president Jason Gannon took home around £2.1m after a roughly 25% rise of his own.
Players got about six per cent more over the same period. The Sun’s report attributed the executive increase partly to more staff being hired at board level, but that explanation has done nothing to calm the fanbase. BlueCo have now lost £1.7 billion since completing their takeover in 2022.
For a club that still doesn’t have a shirt sponsor, it looks bad. Chelsea’s next two fixtures – Manchester United at the weekend and an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds at Wembley – are the kind of games that attract heavy betting interest.
The odds will say a lot about where the market thinks this team is. Review sites like mansionbet.com have plenty of options for those keen to place a bet, but right now, it’s hard to argue Chelsea deserve to be favourites in either game.
Rosenior is fighting a losing battle
Saturday summed things up. Manchester City won 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, scoring three times in 17 second-half minutes through Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku.
Chelsea had actually been decent in the first half, which somehow made the collapse worse. Cole Palmer went close early on, Cucurella had a goal ruled out for offside and Pedro Neto forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma. Then Pep Guardiola made his adjustments at the break and the home side fell apart.
The Blues are sixth on 48 points from 32 games. Aston Villa in fourth are seven ahead. That gap is probably too big now. Moises Caicedo’s error for the third goal was a moment that sticks, and it came on a day when their captain needed to lead by example.
Former Manchester United scout Mick Brown told Football Insider the dressing room has gone “toxic,” which isn’t hard to believe. You watch the players down tools in the second half on Saturday and you just know where this group is mentally.
Sky Sports correspondent Kaveh Solhekol says the club are “planning on keeping” Liam Rosenior for now. But then Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez both went public during the international break criticising the direction of the club, and Gary Neville called them “selfish” for it. He had a point about the timing, even if most of us agreed with what they actually said.
Rosenior faces United this weekend. Lose that one and the top-four talk is done.
Pavlovic is not coming
The summer window was supposed to offer hope. Bayern Munich’s Aleksandar Pavlovic has been linked with Chelsea for weeks, and on paper he is exactly what Rosenior needs – a 21-year-old German international who can play in a double pivot, handle the press and pass over long distances. With Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo both struggling for fitness this season, the midfield beyond Caicedo and Fernandez has been fairly lacklustre.
Chelsea are not alone either. Manchester City have had their eye on Pavlovic as a long-term option in case Rodri leaves for Real Madrid, and Manchester United are also in the picture as they prepare for Casemiro’s departure. The competition for his signature is fierce, even though nobody is likely to get him.
Bayern are not selling. Bundesliga journalist Christian Falk confirmed Chelsea have not even made formal contact. Manchester City tried in January and were told no. TEAMtalk and CaughtOffside report that Chelsea and Manchester United have both asked since, and the answer has not changed.
Pavlovic is contracted until 2029, has praised Vincent Kompany’s coaching publicly, and says he wants to spend his whole career in Munich. Fichajes report a price tag of €100m. This one is going nowhere.
What now
United on Saturday, Leeds at Wembley after that. Two results that will decide whether there is anything left to play for.
The bigger problem is the people above the manager. Boehly’s group have gone through coach after coach while spending enormous sums on transfers. Now we know they have been paying themselves well too. Fans want someone to answer for it, and at some point the ownership will have to front up or sell up.
