Chelsea have made headlines for handing out incredibly long contracts to new signings, but why exactly are they doing it?
WHAT HAPPENED? Mykhailo Mudryk was officially presented as a Chelsea player at Stamford Bridge as Graham Potter’s side beat Crystal Palace at the weekend, bringing to an end a battle between themselves and Arsenal for his signature. He signed a staggering eight-and-a-half year deal, while Benoit Badiashile – who arrived earlier in the transfer window from Monaco – penned a similar seven-and-a-half year contract with Chelsea, which has naturally raised eyebrows due to how unusually long the contracts are.
WHY HAVE THEY BEEN GIVEN THE DEALS? Chelsea have splashed more than £400 million on players since Todd Boehly’s consortium purchased the club. That lofty sum has been spent on a blend of experienced players and younger talents for the future.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire explained to Sky Sports: “What Chelsea have decided to do is to spread the cost of the players by signing them on very long contracts. So, by signing Mudryk on an eight-and-a-half-year contract, the way it is dealt with for accounting and FFP purposes is you take that £88m cost and you divide that over eight-and-a-half-years, and it works out as just over £10m-a-year.
“That appears to be the Chelsea strategy that they have employed over the last couple of windows.”
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