Things at Chelse have been a little hectic ever since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over the club last year and having invested a very large sum of money into the Premier League giants, the owners are now trying to reduce the club’s wage bill.
The owners of the Blues would like to cut their annual wage bill by around £80million ($100m), one of Clearlake’s co-founders has revealed, with the club also on the verge of significant investment from US firm Ares Management.
“I think what we are trying to do is reduce the salary and essentially the opex [operating expenses] of the business by over $100m (£80.6m) per year,” Jose Feliciano said at the IPEM private equity conference in Paris via the Daily Mail.
The London club have parted ways with big earners over the summer with the likes of Mason Mount, Kalidou Koulibaly, Kai Havertz, N’Golo Kante and Romelu Lukaku all leaving Stamford Bridge; which has significantly reduced their wage spend.
Since the takeover, Chelsea have spent around £1billion on player transfers, with their wage bill unsurprisingly increasing amid the mass of incomings. Reducing it will allow them to comply with financial fair play and give them more room to bring in big stars.
In addition to this, Chelsea have reportedly partnered with US alternative asset management firm Ares Management, who are set to invest a further £404m ($500m) into the club.
The chaos at Chelsea looks set to continue as the club tries to manage its money but at some stage, the new owners will get it right and the London club will become a force again.