Raheem Sterling contract termination: Finance expert explains Chelsea’s decision
Chelsea will need to assess whether cancelling Raheem Sterling’s contract and paying off the England international may harm their compliance with UEFA regulations.
That is the verdict of football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that the Blues will look to shift the winger on in January if an agreement for his exit is not reached before then.
Sterling looked likely to join one of West Ham or Fulham this summer, but neither club were able to agree on a deal to sign the winger.
Instead, he has remained at Stamford Bridge, but the England international has been frozen out by Enzo Maresca‘s and is training away from the first team squad.
Stefan Borson told Football Insider that Chelsea may be willing to offer Sterling £25million to cancel his contract, which has two years to run.
However, UEFA’s restrictions on the Blues may take the option of termination off the table.
Keeping Raheem Sterling may be the financially smart decision for Chelsea
Speaking to Football Insider, Plumley broke down the different financial aspects that Chelsea would have to consider when it came to making a decision on when, and how, to offload Sterling.
“If you look through the lens of what his wages are, and what would be the cost of cancelling his contract, you’d be looking at the net difference between the two.
“If you look at the other factors that go into the mix, there is obviously the amortisation charge per year linked to that contract. So it’s the wage you need to be looking at, plus amortisation.
“Extrapolating that through for two years, and then looking at whatever fee it might be to cancel this contract, you would anticipate that the player would want that as a cancellation fee pretty much up front, it would cause you some short-term financial pressure.
“It does depend on where they are in their overall number, and as I say, what the difference between his wages and amortisation cost on the books will be, versus what it might take to cancel his contract.
“That probably leaves you in a lightweight territory that they might sit on for a while, and then look to shift him on in January.
“That would seem to be the play now, because I think to put a sizeable chunk of the cancellation fee right now, you would anticipate that it’s, weirdly, financially better for Chelsea just to sit on that one and try and shift him in January.”
UEFA and FIFA looking at Chelsea signing of Emanuel Emegha
Whilst it seems inevitable that Sterling will leave sooner rather than later, there are no guarantees of when it will happen.
However, the same cannot be said for Strasbourg‘s captain, as Emanuel Emegha has agreed to join Chelsea in 2026.
But the Netherlands international’s move to the Premier League has not gone down well with fans of the Ligue 1 side, who are beginning to grow frustrated with their ownership group BlueCo.