The cost of Chelsea sacking Graham Potter

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:09 CDT
• 3 min read

Graham Potter has been put out of his misery at last.

The 2-0 defeat at home against Aston Villa on Saturday in the Premier League was Potter's last as manager of Chelsea.

On Sunday, Chelsea announced that they had sacked Potter after a dreadful seven months in charge at Stamford Bridge.

European Golden Shoe 2022/23

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly chose to act after seeing no return on spending more than £600 million over two transfer windows.

The Blues find themselves 11 points off the top four with just 10 matches of the season remaining. Their hopes of returning to the Champions League next season are almost over already.

MORE: Arsenal plot Chelsea revenge for Mudryk transfer hijack

Potter finally paid the price on Sunday, but how much will this sacking cost?

The exact value of Potter’s contract is not known, but what is clear is that he was on a five-year deal that ran until the summer of 2027. It is thought to be worth between £10-12 million.

For Chelsea to buy out the remainder of his deal, then, would cost somewhere in the region of £44-52m.

On top of this, it is likely that they will wish to pay off at least some of his staff, although David Ornstein reports that all will remain at least until a new coach is appointed.

FFP bought Potter time?

Ironically, Chelsea’s big spending, which is being used as a stick to beat him with by supporters, may actually have bought Potter time in the job.

The Blues are clearly walking a thin line in terms of Financial Fair Play (FFP), which they have navigated by giving players long contracts that can be amortised over a prolonged period.

Giving Potter a large lump-sum payoff, though, will go down as a huge accounting loss in this year and may unbalance their delicate plan.

This could be one reason why the Chelsea manager survived so long.