Emmanuel Petit criticises Chelsea’s owners for one thing they have done since taking over | OneFootball

Former Blue Emmanuel Petit has criticised Chelsea for hading out long term contracts to players and believes it means they don’t have to prove anything.

Players signing long term contracts has been the norm at Chelsea since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over at Stamford Bridge in 2022.

New signings are being offered seven year contracts, whilst Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson recently signed contract extensions until 2033.

Petit not a fan of long term contracts

Chelsea have come in for criticism for the length of contract they have been handing to players, but the club obviously have their reasons for doing so.

One of the main reasons is to spread the cost of the transfer over the length of the contract, which helps financially, although now a transfer can only be spread over five years.

It also means Chelsea are protecting their assets and are very unlikely to find themselves in a situation where players are running down their contracts and leaving for free.

Palmer recently signed a contract extension until 2033. (Photo by Getty Images)

Of course there are potential downsides as well, with players not under pressure to earn a new contract and Petit believes this strategy leaves players with nothing to prove and they can just sit on their long term deals.

“Chelsea players landing these long contracts have hit the jackpot,” he said in quotes cited on X.com.

“They have nothing to prove anymore. They can sit on these deals for nine years without having to earn a new one.”

Whilst it’s certainly possible some players could do that, it’s unlikely that the majority of players will look to behave in that way and other clubs are now starting to follow suit by offering longer term contracts to their players.

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However, it seems that Chelsea have got a good group of players who all seem very motivated and driven to play for the club and succeed, and not the type to just sit on their contracts and not perform.

Of course it will be interesting to see how many do stay for the length of their of deals, but the owners have done a really good job with bringing the wage budget down with these new incentivised contracts.