Chelsea players have a whopping 191 years remaining on their contracts, a figure that far outstrips any of their Premier League rivals.
A defining policy of the Todd Boehly era has been handing players extended deals to spread out the transfer fee across the length of the contract.
Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez are tied down to nine-year contracts and the majority of new players sign at least on six-season terms.
Chelsea’s nearest rivals are Tottenham in this respect as their combined total is 97 years remaining.
Meanwhile, Everton sit at the foot of the table with 47 cumulative years left, as calculated by Sky Sports News.
In his latest column for Mail Sport, Graeme Souness slammed Chelsea’s strategy, claiming it is not the action of ‘true football people who understand the market or the game’.
Chelsea’s summer spend has almost reached £200 million on nine players, most of them teenagers or in their early 20s.
‘Giving 20-somethings financial security for the rest of their lives, will diminish their desire. They no longer see every day as a school day,’ Souness wrote.
‘It becomes too much, too soon, and those same people will start to settle into their armchair. It makes the job of a manager nigh on mission impossible.’
Brighton, Wolves, and Manchester United round off the top five in the list for clubs with the highest remaining contract duration, weighing in at 96, 83, and 82 years respectively.
Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal are all in the bottom half of the list, standing on 71, 64, and 62 years.
Boosting Chelsea’s total number of years is the fact they have 43 first-team players on their books.
Manager Enzo Maresca revealed that 15 stars are not even training with the first team due to the size of the squad.
Experienced stars such as Romelu Lukaku and Kepo Arrizabalaga have reportedly been made to train apart from the main group as Chelsea scramble to find solutions in the transfer market.
Those two didn’t even make the squad for Chelsea’s Premier League opener against Manchester City, and neither did Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, or Tosin Adarabioyo – who they only signed this summer – among a 23-strong contingent of stars.
In an exclusive statement to Mail Sport, Sterling’s camp revealed he is ‘seeking clarity’ over his future amid the chaos.
On the latest episode of It’s All Kicking Off, Sami Mokbel explained how Sterling is open to a move and Ian Ladyman said he would even be willing to budge on his £300,000-per-week wages if the right club came in
