Cole Palmer to leave Chelsea? The TRUTH revealed

Cameron Smith

18 Feb 2025 15:00 CST
4 min read

Cole Palmer doesn’t have a Champions League clause in his current Chelsea contract, despite speculative reports to the contrary.

The England star has been Chelsea’s standout player since his arrival from Manchester City in 2023 and he has been linked with an exit following the club’s recent downturn in form.

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Furthermore, reports have suggested that Chelsea could be forced to consider a sale if they fail to achieve Champions League qualification, due to a clause in his current deal.

However, transfer expert Ben Jacobs has poured cold water on such claims. He posted on X: “Understand no Chelsea player has any clause in their contract allowing an exit if the club fail to qualify for #UCL. This includes Cole Palmer.

“Chelsea's incentive-driven contracts, which have already seen Palmer rewarded with an incremental wage increase and Enzo Fernandez extended, do not offer this type of release clause, formal or informal.”

Palmer still has over eight years remaining on his current contract at Chelsea and Enzo Maresca’s side are highly unlikely to sanction a sale in the foreseeable future.

What has been said about Cole Palmer?

Speculation over Palmer’s future at Chelsea comes after Jamie Carragher hinted that the England international could push to leave Stamford Bridge if they fail to secure Champions League qualification.

“Chelsea were overperforming at the start of the season,” Carragher told Sky Sports after the Blues’ 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday evening.

“There was talk of them being in the title race. You felt they weren’t good enough because of the goalkeeper situation and at the top end of the pitch as well. They’ve probably gone back to what we thought they would be at the start of the season.

“This project in terms of going forward and bringing young players in, what you’ve got to remember is that the best players in this project are waiting for that goalkeeper, that centre-forward. I’m talking really about Cole Palmer and maybe the central midfield players.

“This idea that this project will take two or three years, the problem with that is that the best players who are in the team now won’t wait. Cole Palmer is one of the best players in the Premier League. You could see a frustration starting to build. He’s good enough to be competing for the biggest honours - he’s scoring in the European Championship final.”

Current ETV

Cole Palmer

M (CR)

Chelsea

Cole Palmer

M (CR)

Chelsea

ETV Range

€104M - €127.1M

Carragher added: “Nottingham Forest are third! Chelsea are out of the cup competitions, the European competition isn't a European competition for Chelsea - they can play their second string. It’s not like they’ve got lots of games.

“They’ve got to get Champions League - if they don’t get that, it’ll be a disaster. Cole Palmer won’t wait around for a couple of years.”