At that start of the season, the Premier League odds had either Manchester United or Manchester City winning league. However, outside favourites Chelsea managed to string together some impressive performances and results which led them to their fifth Premier League title.With the prize money for winning the league around worth millions, we look at how Chelsea will spend their winnings this summer.
One of the key areas that Chelsea should focus on during the summer is definitely player recruitment. After failing to qualify for a European competition, and early exits from the cups, Chelsea have only had to play once a week and which means they have fully focused on the Premier League. However, next season expectations will be higher. Over the summer you can expect a few transfer dealing being completed at Stamford Bridge. Antonio Conte and his Chelsea team will be expected to challenge across multiple competitions next season so quality backups will be a priority and, if the transfer rumours are true, a replacement for Diego Costa.
As well as signing new players to improve their quality in depth, you can also expect Chelsea to offer new contracts to some of their players. With contracts to some key players, such as Nemanja Matic and Thibaut Courtois, expiring in the next few seasons, Chelsea will have to offer these players new contracts to ensure that they don’t lose them. As well as dealing with expiring contracts, you can also expect certain players to receive lucrative contracts with a significant pay rise.
If new and improved contracts wasn’t enough for some, Chelsea players can also expect end of year bonuses for their success this season. The majority of players these days tend to bonuses and incentives in their contracts on top of their basic wage in order to ‘motivate’ them to perform better and ‘earn’ their pay check. With the Premier League title now at Chelsea, players can expect a big bonus at the end of the season.
Although it was the eleven players on the pitch that won Chelsea the points that gave them the Premier League title, the manager and backroom staff have all contributed to Chelsea’s success this season. Like the players, non-playing staff also tend to have bonuses in their contracts depending on the success of the club. For most clubs, this tends to be a cash bonus or wage rise. Although it is unlikely that the backroom staff will get near cars, like the Leicester players did last season, it is very likely that they will walk away with a few extra quid in their pocket.
However, it is not just players and staff that the money will be going to. The football industry is getting bigger and bigger with clubs continuously trying to increase their revenues and grow their brand. Marketing is an ongoing process, but clubs like Chelsea will tend to spend a lot of money and time on marketing during pre-season. Whilst the players and staff are away on holiday, the marketing team continues to work and attempt to bring in more revenue for the club.
As well as investing money in the club, many Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, tend to give back to the community. Thanks to the huge popularity of football, many clubs invest money in corporate social responsibility programs. ‘The Chelsea Foundation’ is the best example of how Chelsea invest (including their winnings) to the community. Millions of pounds are spent on the foundation which helps delivers sports programmes and sessions to around 500 schools. This shows that huge ‘mega clubs’ such as Chelsea are not just interested in investing their winnings in the club, they are also interested in investing it in the community.
