Chelsea’s £300m wage bill to be slashed next term after failing to qualify for the Champions League

Chelsea’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League will cost players millions in wages as the club face growing discontent within their squad.

The Blues’ elimination from this season’s competition at the hands of Real Madrid on Tuesday night means the two times winners will miss out on playing in European football’s elite club tournament for the 2023-24 campaign.

And the prospect of missing out on Champions League football will see a host of players sacrifice vast sums of money.

Following their arrival last year co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have moved to implement a bonus structure to player contracts linked to Champions League qualification that would see their wages fluctuate depending on whether they were playing in the competition.

It was a significant change from the ownership era of Roman Abramovich, who only rewarded players for winning trophies.

Chelsea are set to miss out on next season’s Champions League, and players will have their wages slashed due to a bonus structure implemented by Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly

Mail Sport understands the club’s most recent signings, or those who have agreed new contracts, will see their earning power slashed by at least 30 percent.

Sources have indicated that some contracts have also been discussed which have included potential wage increases as high as 50 per cent linked to Chelsea being in the Champions League.

It is unclear whether the variable wage scheme will be enforced immediately or if players will be given a grace period.

The decision to enforce an incentivised salary structure was designed to motivate players – but it also provides Chelsea with a degree of protection against the financial shortfall incurred by the failure to qualify for the hugely lucrative Champions League.

In contrast, however, those who on contracts signed during the Abramovich era will continue to be paid their full salaries.

Chelsea have signed 12 senior players on permanent contracts since the Boehly-Clearlake takeover, while seven existing squad members have signed fresh terms since Abramovich’s departure, with the majority set to be impacted by Chelsea’s Champions League exit.

Moving forward, the club face the task of convincing a group of players, who have grown increasingly unhappy at Chelsea in recent weeks, about the direction they are headed.

Mykhailo Mudryk (left) and Raheem Sterling (right) joined in the last 12 months and could be impacted by the slashed wage bill

Enzo Fernandez is another new signing who may be affected by the wage bill being slashed

Having spent £600million on new signings in the previous two transfer windows there was optimism that the new American regime could replicate the success achieved under Abramovich.

But a disastrous season has left a number of squad members privately questioning their futures at Stamford Bridge.

On Tuesday night, Chelsea legend Didier Drogba – one of the mainstays of Abramovich’s reign – launched a scathing attack on Chelsea’s owners last as his former club crashed out of the Champions League.

After his address to the players after the weekend loss to Brighton, Chelsea’s co-controlling owner Boehly went back into the home dressing room following the 2-0 loss to Real Madrid courtesy of Rodrygo’s second half brace.

And Blues legend Drogba fired a verbal assault at the new regime following a result that effectively means the Blues will not play Champions League football next season.

‘I knew this club with a certain class during the Abramovich era, but today I find it lacking. It’s very hard for me to see how they got rid of certain people,’ said the Ivorian.

‘They should go back to the principles and values they had.

Drogba said he no longer recognised the club he won four Premier League titles with

‘I don’t recognise my club. It’s no longer the same club. There is a new owner and a new vision. Of course, we try to compare it with what happened during the (Roman) Abramovich era where a lot of players were brought in, but the decisions were very intelligent.

‘Bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Herman Crespo, Micheal Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was done to win titles.

‘They are players with a certain experience. The strategy is now different; we bet on young players. But a dressing room of over 30 players is difficult [to manage] for a manager.

‘They lack charismatic leaders. You need players that take on the game, that assume their responsibilities. You need a player that brings a bit of madness to the stadium.’