Contract discussions are "fraught" because Todd Boehly and Clearlake risk losing Mason Mount if they can't come to an agreement on a new deal, so they "have cut Chelsea's average wage to under £75k-per-week."
According to rumors, Chelsea's average pay has significantly decreased under the ownership group headed by Todd Boehly.
The American entrepreneur, who shares ownership of the Blues with Behdad Eghbali, teamed up with Clearlake Capital to buy the team a year ago when Roman Abramovich was placed under UK government sanctions.
However, Boehly's first season as owner has been a miserable and chaotic one, with him becoming a laughing stock in many circles when a number of his moves went wrong.
Despite spending more than £600 million on 18 players throughout the summer and winter transfer windows, Chelsea is behind in 12th place and on track for their first bottom-half finish since the 1995–96 season. This is because their plan has frequently appeared chaotic and wrong.
With four caretaker or permanent managers in charge, the Blues have used an astounding 32 players overall this season, which is the second-highest total in the top tier behind Nottingham Forest's 33.
And according to The Times, one of the main outcomes of their first year in charge has been the decrease of the Blues' pay cost, which will soon see the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino as the third permanent manager of their tenure.
When Boehly and Clearlake first arrived, they were surprised by the exorbitant compensation paid out under the previous administration. In fact, Chelsea frequently "gazumped" numerous other clubs to recruit players by giving higher salary.
This was never more apparent than when Romelu Lukaku was acquired for £97.5 million in the summer of 2021, becoming the Belgian striker the highest-paid player in club history with a salary of £315,000 per week.
Nevertheless, Lukaku's return to the team where he previously played between 2011 and 2014 was a fiasco, and this season he has spent on loan with Inter Milan. However, the 30-year-old still has three years left on his extremely lucrative contract.
According to the report, Boehly and Company intended to alter this and reduce the likelihood that signings may go wrong.
As a result, numerous newcomers this season, including Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Muidryk, and Noni Madueke, have all signed contracts that are substantially longer than usual and pay significantly less.
These three new players, who cost more than £200 million, committed to Chelsea on contracts that last at least until 2030.
