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Raheem Sterling and at least one other Chelsea player will avoid having to take a pay cut for missing out on the Champions League, reportedly.
The Blues have had a terrible first full season under Todd Boehly’s ownership with Frank Lampard’s side currently 11th in the Premier League and he seems more likely to be relegated than to qualify for Europe.
Lampard was brought in as caretaker manager earlier this month after the Chelsea board made the decision to sack Graham Potter – who took over from Thomas Tuchel earlier this season – after just 12 wins in 31 games in all competitions.
As well as appointing three managers this season, Boehly has overseen a transfer spend of around £600m in the last two transfer windows without resolving the goal problem.
After their Tuesday evening 2-0 defeat against Real MadridChelsea are now out of the Champions League and with it have missed their last chance to qualify for next season’s competition.
Chelsea are 17 points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United – who occupy the bottom Champions League spot in the Premier League – and a report on Thursday said a number of players will now face a 30% pay cut..
But The sun state that Sterling – who signed from Manchester City in the summer – is ‘one of the Chelsea players who won’t lose a cent in Todd Boehly’s cost-cutting plans’.
The wage cuts «do not apply to all team members» with Sterling joining «before American Boehly insisted all new contracts contain a 30% penalty clause».
The sun he adds: «Sterling and at least one other new player — thought to be defender Kalidou Koulibaly — will avoid taking a heavy financial hit from the Blues’ bad season.»
Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva leveled criticism at the board earlier this week, telling them they were «strategizing» with too much «indecision» this season.
«I think the first step has been taken, a wrong step but it has been taken,» Silva told reporters on Tuesday.
“We can’t blame the managers if we don’t take responsibility. It’s a difficult period for the club, with many indecisions: change of ownership, arrival of new players.
“We had to increase the size of the dressing room because it didn’t fit the size of the team.
“A positive point is that there are fantastic players within the team, but on the other hand there are always players who will be unhappy. There will always be someone angry because not everyone can play.
“The manager can only pick 11, out of 30 or something like that. It’s difficult. Some can’t make the team. We signed eight in January.
“We have to stop and implement a strategy otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes.”
READ MORE: Todd Boehly’s Chelsea miss chart: Dressing-room misstep joins three managerial blunders
