The first signs that Chelsea intend to curb their lavish
spending have emerged during the fraught negotiations over a new
contract for captain John Terry. The 26-year-old defender, the
clubs talisman and most valuable long-term asset, has been told
that any deal has to comply with new restrictions. This is despite
Chelsea initially suggesting a nine-year deal taking the England
captain to the end of his career.
The club intend to cap the amount of money they spend on wages at
the current 76 per cent of turnover and for the financial year
ending June 30, 2006, salaries accounted for £114million of the
£150m turnover.
This does not mean that Chelsea will not pay Terry £120,000-a-week
parity with top earners Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko that
the player believes he is worth. But the extra investment in JT
will have to come at the expense of others in the squad.
This firm negotiating stance shows that owner Roman Abramovich,
having just settled his mammoth divorce, is starting to count the
hundreds of millions it is costing him to fulfil his ambition of
making Chelsea the worlds most successful club.
Abramovich also knows that he faces a multimillion pound
compensation battle with boss Jose Mourinho, who looks increasingly
likely to depart at the end of the season. Mourinho is under
contract until 2010 and will want more than the £4m it cost to sack
predecessor Claudio Ranieri.
