Chelsea’s new signings ‘regret signing long term deals’ with the Premier League giants

According to reports, several members of the Chelsea team regret signing long-term deals.

The first XI players are worried about the club’s future as Chelsea have lost five games and crashed out of the Champions League after losing to LaLiga giants Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

As well as concerns about the club’s future, some squad members are worried about their first-team chances next season due to Chelsea’s bloated squad.

Chelsea’s January recruitment drive has left them with a huge squad of over 30 players, leaving many players – worth millions of pounds – completely out on match days.

In addition, the club will completely miss out on European football next season, given their poor performance in the Premier League. Therefore, the new recruits get even fewer opportunities in the first XI.

Therefore according to The athletic, several team members have expressed a desire to leave the club this summer. But the majority of them have signed long-term deals with the Premier League giants.

A source close to the first eleven said several players were told during their contract negotiations that they would be ‘key’ in the ‘exciting new Chelsea project’. However, they hardly played for the Blues this season.

The long duration of their deals will make it more difficult for them to leave the club. This is said to have irritated several players and created an undesirable atmosphere among Chelsea’s squad.

Chelsea’s failure to qualify for the Champions League has created another problem within the squad, as owners Boehly and Clearlake Capital have implemented a bonus structure into player contracts linked to Champions League qualification that would see their wages fluctuate depending on whether they played in the competition.

It was a major step away from Roman Abramovich’s ownership era, which only rewarded players for winning trophies.

Mail Sport understands that the club’s most recent signings, or those who have agreed new contracts, will see their earning power drop by at least 30 per cent. Sources have indicated that the figure could be as high as 50 percent.

The decision to enforce an incentivized salary structure was designed to motivate players, but it also provides Chelsea with a degree of protection against the financial shortfall created by failing to qualify for the hugely lucrative Champions League.

To make matters worse, some members of the team are not affected by such cuts because they signed their deals while under the former ownership or before the above was implemented.

Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly are among those who will not be affected as they signed with the club before the salary structure was adopted.

The source of The Athletic has said the difference in contracts is causing a rift in the team.

They said, ‘That situation will hardly help the harmony within the group. Some players are paying the price financially for the poor results this season, and some are not.’

Chelsea have signed 12 senior players on permanent contracts since taking over Boehly-Clearlake, while seven existing team members have signed new terms since Abramovich’s departure.

Therefore, the new Chelsea manager will have a difficult task convincing a group of players, who have become increasingly unhappy at Chelsea in recent weeks, about the direction the club is heading under the regime of Boehly and Clearlake.

Mail Sport previously reported that Mauricio Pochettino has reached a verbal agreement to become the next Chelsea manager – and the deal could be finalized within days.

Mail Sport revealed that the former Tottenham boss was holding further talks with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy on Tuesday as he approaches a return to the Premier League.

The 51-year-old Argentine has been without management work since he was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last season.

Chelsea club legend Frank Lampard is expected to remain in his role as interim manager until the end of the current season, while Pochettino takes up duties in the summer.