By Frank Dalleres
Chelsea will no longer be able to use extra-long contracts to spread the cost of signing players over many years after their Premier League rivals voted to close the loophole.
Blues chiefs signed Moises Caicedo to an eight-year deal when he joined from Brighton for a British record £115m fee in August. The move allowed them to amortise his transfer and salary costs over the length of the contract, helping them to meet financial fair play rules that limit how much clubs can lose on an annual basis.
But those long deals will now likely be a thing of the past, after Premier League clubs voted on Tuesday to bring their rules into line with European governing body Uefa, which capped the amortisation period at five years during the summer.
It is also a blow to current Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino’s hopes of strengthening the squad during the January transfer window.
“Premier League shareholders today agreed to amend the rule on amortisation of player registration costs to bring in line with Uefa regulations. Going forward, a five-year maximum will apply to all new or extended player contracts,” the league said.
Chelsea’s existing signings are not affected by the rule change, meaning they can continue to spread the cost of £106m Enzo Fernandez, £89m Mykhailo Mudryk, £70m Wesley Fofana and many others over longer periods than most signings.
But the sort of spending spree which saw Blues chairman Todd Boehly sanction £1bn worth of new players – also including £55m Marc Cucurella, £52m Christopher Nkunku, £40m Cole Palmer, £39m Axel Disasi, £35m Benoit Badiashile and £29m Noni Madueke – in his first 18 months as co-owner looks to be impossible now.
Pochettino also looks set to be frustrated in his drive for yet more recruitment to lift Chelsea from 12th in the table. They have won just five of 16 games in the top flight this season, leaving them closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
“We need to talk and to try and improve in the next transfer market,” Pochettino said after Sunday’s defeat at Everton. “We are dealing with this. After five months, we need to check and that’s the reality. If we are not aggressive enough maybe we need to do something.
“That’s a thing to analyse with the sporting director and the owner and see what we can do to change the dynamic and improve the second half of the season. Our reality now is mid-table and if we want to go up we have to push ourselves. When the transfer window opens, see what we can do.”
