Manchester City signed Marc Guehi for £20m this week — a fee that appears good value for an active England international.
However, City saw off rival interest by moving early, completing the deal six months before his contract expired while offering what sources describe as “free‑agent terms”. That means the overall package cost far more than the headline fee, with substantial agent costs, signing‑on bonuses and a reported wage of £300,000 a week.
Had Chelsea matched those wages, Guehi would have become the club’s highest‑paid player, overtaking captain Reece James on £250,000 a week.
The terms effectively ruled out not just Chelsea but also Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich, all of whom were interested in signing Guehi on a free transfer in the summer.
Such a salary could also have posed challenges inside the Chelsea dressing room, with Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill all understood to be seeking discussions over improved contracts. Chelsea, however, want to delay any renewal talks until the summer.
Some at Chelsea also felt stylistically that Guehi was too similar to Colwill.
There remains a debate over whether the club’s efforts to reduce the wage bill since Roman Abramovich’s ownership are limiting their chances of competing at the very top. James is believed to be the only current first‑team player earning more than £200,000 a week and, although figures for the 2024–25 season put the annual wage bill at £338m – the fourth‑highest in the Premier League – it is down from £404m the previous year.
Chelsea must also be mindful of Uefa’s financial controls. The club needs to grow its revenues in order to raise wages, with 72.2% of income currently spent on salaries – the highest ratio among the traditional big six.
Insiders say their outdated Stamford Bridge ground remains a major factor holding the club back because it cannot generate the sorts of revenues that rival clubs can with new stadiums. Chelsea still don’t have a front-of-shirt sponsor, and they have become heavily reliant on balancing the books through player trading.
Qualifying for the Champions League is the single biggest route to improving revenues, and player contracts are now strongly incentivised around qualification, making a top‑four or top‑five finish the club’s primary target for the past two seasons.