Astonishing cost of Chelsea’s managerial merry-go-round
The Blues have spent an estimated £50 million on managerial changes this season alone, yet still find themselves without a permanent head coach.
Chelsea parted company with Graham Potter last week just six months after the former Brighton boss was brought in to oversee a new era at the club.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are now searching for the third manager of their brief time in charge, during which time they have spent roughly £290 million ($360m) on players.
However the managerial changes have also cost the club an enormous amount, with the total already thought to be around £50 million ($62m), and yet the club still finds itself without a manager during a crucial period in the season.
Here’s how that £50 million figure breaks down:
- September 2022: Chelsea sack Thomas Tuchel, paying him £13m and his backroom staff £2m
- October 2022: Chelsea hire Graham Potter, paying Brighton £22m to release him from his contract
- April 2023: Chelsea sack Graham Potter, paying him £13m of his remaining five-year contract
Chelsea eye out-of-work managers
So confident were the new Chelsea owners in Potter’s suitability for the club, they broke the world record for a managerial fee to bring him to Stamford Bridge. When Brighton released their 2021/22 accounts last month they outlined the cost of the deal.
“On 18 September 2022 the club was delighted to appoint Roberto De Zerbi as its new head coach following the loss of Graham Potter and his team to Chelsea a few days earlier in a deal that saw the club receive a sum of £21.5m,” the report read.
Included in that figure, it is assumed, is the cost of bringing Billy Reid, Bjon Hamberg, Bruno Saltor, Ben Roberts and Kyle Macaulay to join Potter’s coaching team. French outlet L’Equipe report that Potter had been given an annual salary of £11.8 million, making him the third highest-paid manager in the Premier League, behind only Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
Having spent a world-record fee to spring Potter from his Brighton contract, and already reaching the limits of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) restrictions, reports suggest that the club is looking for candidates that are already out of work this time around. The leading candidates are thought to be Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique, both of whom have left illustrious postings in recent months.
Also under consideration is Mauricio Pochettino, although the former Tottenham Hotspur boss may have reservations about joining one of Spurs’ London rivals.