Gary Neville believes Chelsea’s ‘crazy’ eight-year contracts are detrimental to the motivation of their young players.
Todd Boehly handed long deals to new arrivals during a £1bn spend in the early transfer windows after buying the club.
Mykhailo Mudryk was handed an eight-and-a-half-year contract when Chelsea signed him from Shakhtar Donetsk for £88.5m in January 2023.
Enzo Fernandez, signed from Benfica for £106.8m in the same window, signed a contract of similar length, which does not expire until 2031.
Moisés Caicedo, who arrived for £115m in August 2023, was handed an eight-year contract, as was striker Nicolas Jackson.
Moisés Caicedo (left) and Nicolas Jackson (right) in stylish designer clothes: Gary Neville has suggested that Chelsea players on long contracts are “really rich” and lack motivation.
Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, who signed a 7.5-year contract, pictured on holiday in Sint Maarten
Mykhailo Mudryk (left) and Enzo Fernandez (right) received eight-and-a-half year contracts from Chelsea when they signed.
Fernandez photographed outside a Cartier boutique in London in one of his Instagram photos.
Englishman Cole Palmer, pictured on holiday in Dubai, signed a seven-year contract with Chelsea
Noni Madueke, Benoit Badiashile, Malo Gusto and Cole Palmer are among other Chelsea players who have committed to long-term deals.
The idea was to help Chelsea comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules by spreading the cost of players over the long-term deal, a loophole that has since been closed.
But Neville believes a young player who thinks he is “really rich” after signing such a long contract will not give his all to the cause.
speaking in The Gary Neville Podcast Regarding the next steps that Mauricio Pochettino’s team must take, he said: “They need good and experienced signings, they cannot follow the path of eight-year signings.”
‘Eight-year contracts are bad in many ways because I just don’t think they make sense. But they are not really good for a young player.
“Money is also a lot and if you think you have an eight-year contract as a 21 or 22-year-old, the club might think they have security over you, but the young player thinks: ‘I’m rich, I really am rich.’
‘For some that is a problem, it just affects their way of thinking.
‘What is the motivation? For you and your family, you hope that’s the motivation. For your teammates and for your coach, do the right thing.
Gary Neville believes long-term contracts remove young players’ motivation to perform
Chelsea have endured a difficult season and are on course to finish mid-table in the league.
“But sometimes you think, after a year or eight months: ‘I need to fight for that new contract, I only have three or two years left.’
Some have seven years left! Those contracts are crazy in every way.
‘Forget about FFP and all that stuff that happened, forget the fact that if they make a mistake, you’ll be stuck with them for a long time.
“Just so the young players think they have that comfort.”
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly spent more than £1 billion on new signings after buying the club.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino is under pressure and Chelsea are a work in progress
Former Manchester United defender Neville admitted he once signed a contract of similar length at Old Trafford but knew manager Sir Alex Ferguson would not forgive any breach of standards.
“I said it, I once signed a seven-year contract when I was 24. But I was as solid as a rock,” Neville added.
‘He (Ferguson) would have got rid of me after 10 minutes, forget the seven-year contract! He would have kicked me out the door, he was in control.
