Report: Chelsea paid a world-record compensation fee to make major backroom change

The world-record compensation fee paid by Chelsea to hire Graham Potter revealed

Brighton and Hove Albion revealed the world-record compensation fee (£21.5m) Chelsea paid to hire Graham Potter and his team following the departure of Thomas Tuchel in early September 2022.

A day after sacking Tuchel, Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali identified Potter as the man to take over the managerial duty of the men’s team. They offered him a five-year contract worth £12m per year.

What it means is that Potter will earn £60m if he lasts the distance of his current deal at the club. Add that to the £21.5m paid by the club to hire him and his team (a world record when it comes to compensation fees), he is definitely a high-priced appointment.

Firstly, it is highly unlikely that Potter lasts the duration of his contract at Stamford Bridge unless he turns things around soon and sustains that over a period of time.

The former Brighton boss has been under intense pressure since the turn of the year, with results not matching the kind of money spent in the January transfer window.

And when we thought that a corner is turned following important wins over Leeds United, Borussia Dortmund and Leicester City, the Everton result came smacking in our faces. More so than the result, it was the performance against a relegation-threatened side at home that was more concerning.

With regards to the compensation fee paid by the Chelsea owners, it shows how convinced they were about Potter. They seem to be trusting their decision thus far, although a few more average results and the fans will start to turn on the owners to sack the manager.

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If Potter wants to instil faith in the fans’ minds, he needs to pull something out of the fire and lead his team to a Champions League win in May. That would definitely ease up the reputation of the compensation fee record broken to hire him in the first place.