Chelsea 'fear that sacking Poch could breach FFP rules if huge payout became known'

CHELSEA are said to be concerned that sacking Mauricio Pochettino could lead to the club breaching Premier League spending rules.

Owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake have spent more than £1 BILLION on new players since taking over in the summer of 2022.

It was hoped that the huge expenditure would help ensure a return to the Champions League, along with the financial rewards that would bring.

But they are currently in the bottom half of the table after the dismal 4-2 home defeat to Wolves.

Despite reaching the Carabao Cup final, where they faced Liverpool, fans have turned on boss Pochettino after their terrible performances.

Jose Mourinho is rumored to return to Stanford Bridge for a third time as pressure mounts on the Argentine.

But Pochettino still has eighteen months left on his contract.

And now the Daily email has claimed that serious financial concerns over Pochettino's sacking have emerged as a major factor.

They argue that sacking him and his large backroom team would cost more than £10m, with any pre-June payout counting towards the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) for this season.

Chelsea are already struggling given the huge transfer costs and their cause was not helped by their failure to offload homegrown talents such as Armando Broja and Trevoh Chalobah on a permanent basis last season.

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Under the rules, clubs can lose up to £105m over three years.

There are a number of exceptions that clubs can take advantage of, but this does not include severance pay for dismissed managers.

Boehly and the rest of the ownership group have already paid more than £20 million in compensation for getting rid of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.

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