Boehly and Chelsea avoid world-record £50m Potter cost as manager agreement made
The Blues faced a world-record fee to remove Graham Potter from his post in further embarrassment.
Chelsea have avoided one strand of extra Graham Potter related embarrassment after the decision was made on Sunday to part ways with the manager. Todd Boehly cut ties with the 47-year-old just seven months into a five year contract offered in September.
It is reported that sacking Potter could have cost up to £50m on top of the initial payment to Brighton, double what they paid out to Antonio Conte in 2018 when he was removed from the post. The Athletic write that a fresh package has been agreed with the Englishman though, reducing that cost and taking it below a world-record fee.
The loss to Villa, who moved above them and into the top half on Saturday, was the final straw. “On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea,” the club wrote in a statement late on Sunday night. “We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person,” Chelsea’s statement continued.
“He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome. Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season. We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead.
“We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.”
The pre-World Cup injury spate left him without a key group of stars and those setbacks continued on into the new year but despite a lavish January window Potter was not able to string together a serious run of results, seeing the fans turn on him for the second time in five matches.
