Why are Chelsea signing players on eight-year contracts? Explaining reasons for long-term transfer deals

Ben Miller

Why are Chelsea signing players on eight-year contracts? Explaining reasons for long-term transfer deals image

Chelsea's vast spending has extended to a range of lengthy contracts, the like of which have rarely been seen in English football.

Moises Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk are among the expensive signings to have been handed deals which will keep them at the club until the 2030s if they see out their terms.

There is, however, more to it than an apparently unusual level of faith in a sport in which players rarely stay long at clubs.

What is behind the ultra-long deals being agreed between the Premier League side and players? Here's the reasoning involved.

MORE: Why are Chelsea signing Moises Caicedo?

Chelsea long contracts: Why Caicedo signed eight-year deal

When Chelsea signed Moises Caicedo on August 14, the midfield sensation became the latest player to agree an eight-year contract at Stamford Bridge.

Part of the reason for that is the size of the fee paid for the Ecuador star, which could rise to a Premier League record £115 million ($146.3m).

A process called amortisation allows club books to account for transfer fees across the length of player contracts.

Were Caicedo to sign a mere five-year contract, Chelsea would account £23m ($29.3m) a year to his fee. Over eight years, that becomes a significantly reduced figure of slightly less than £14.4m ($18.3m).

Moises Caicedo Chelsea 081523 (1)
Chelsea

The same applies for players such as Ukraine wideman Mudryk, whose £88.5m fee is spread over an eight-and-a-half year contract.

The ploy should help Chelsea to pass the Premier League's Financial Fair Play rules despite taking their total spend since Todd Boehly became owner to more than £900m ($1.14 billion) with the arrival of Caicedo.

Of course, the other reason to tie players down to long-term deals revolves around the player performing to a high level, meaning any interested club would have to pay a huge fee to prise them away. Effectively, it reduces Chelsea's chances of selling a player for less than they paid, as well as avoid the risk of losing them for free at the end of their contract.

What are UEFA's rules on contract lengths and amortisation?

The administrative body for European football brought in regulations at the end of the 2022-23 season in an effort to restrict contract lengths of the kind Chelsea have been using.

UEFA ruled that from this summer transfer fees can only be amortised over a maximum of five years.

Reports suggest that the Premier League will follow suit.

Stamford Bridge corner flag

Will Chelsea be able to keep long contracts if they are in Europe?

Chelsea hope that the exceptional players they have signed, including £107.8m ($132m) FIFA World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez, will help them qualify for European competition again.

Despite their lavish outlay, the five-time Premier League champions finished 12th as part of a season that was as dismal as their spending was astonishing in 2022-23.

Should they return to the UEFA Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League, though, they will have to adjust any new players' contract lengths accordingly.

Even if they play in one of those competitions in 2023-24, their books will still benefit from the length of their players' contracts in the meantime – and if they miss out again, they will be able to keep those deals and the amortisations going.

MORE: Will Chelsea win the Premier League?

Which players have Chelsea signed on long contracts?

Here are the Chelsea players who had contracts with more than five years to run in August 2023.

Others have also signed deals lasting more than five years at the club, such as Marc Cucurella, who agreed a six-year contract when he became the most expensive fullback in history by joining for £62m ($78.8m) from Brighton & Hove Albion in August 2022.

Player Fee Joined Contract expiry
Christopher Nkunku £52m / $66m Jun 2023 June 2029
Axel Disasi £38.9m / $49.6m Aug 2023 June 2029
Wesley Fofana £70m / $84.9m Aug 2022 June 2029
Levi Colwill N/A N/A June 2029
Robert Sanchez £25m / $31.8m Aug 2023 June 2030
Benoit Badiashile £33.7m / $40.9m Jan 2023 June 2030
Noni Madueke £30m / $38m Jan 2023 June 2030
Malo Gusto £26.8m / $32.8m Jan 2023 June 2030
Lesley Ugochukwu £23.3m / $29.7m Aug 2023 June 2030
Andrey Santos £11.1m / $13.5m Jan 2023 June 2030
Mykhailo Mudryk £88.5m / $112.4m Jan 2023 June 2031
Enzo Fernandez £107.8m / $132m Jan 2023 June 2031
Moises Caicedo £100m / $146m Aug 2023 June 2031
Nicolas Jackson £31.5m / $41.5m Jun 2023 June 2031

Contract expiry dates source: Transfermarkt

Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams

Region TV Streaming
Australia Optus Sport
Canada

Fubo Canada

Hong Kong Now TV
India Star Sports Disney+, Hotstar,
JioTV
Malaysia Astro SuperSport Astro Go
New Zealand Sky Sport Sky Sport Now,
Sky Go
Singapore StarHub StarHub TV+
UK Sky Sports, TNT Sports NOW TV, Sky Go,
Amazon Prime
USA USA Network,
Telemundo, Universo
Fubo, Peacock

UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.

USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.

Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streamed exclusively via Fubo in Canada.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.

India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).

Ben Miller

Ben Miller Photo

Ben Miller has been writing about sport for 25 years, following all levels of football as well as boxing, MMA, athletics and tennis. He’s seen five promotions, three relegations, one World Cup winner and home games in at least three different stadiums as a result of his lifelong devotion to Brighton & Hove Albion. His main aim each week is to cover at least one game or event that does not require a last-minute rewrite.