Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich is poised to make Antonio Conte the highest-paid manager in club history and bankroll a £200M ($257.8M) "summer spend as reward for winning the Premier League title," according to Matt Law of the London TELEGRAPH. Chelsea is also "confident" that Eden Hazard will sign a new £300,000 ($386,700)-a-week contract "after holding positive talks with the Belgian." Abramovich is expected to "reflect the current going rate for top managers in an improved new contract" for Conte. His current deal is worth £6.5M ($8.4M)-a-year, less than Man City Manager Pep Guardiola, ManU Manager José Mourinho, Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger and Liverpool Manager Jürgen Klopp are paid, while Mourinho's last contract at Chelsea earned him £7.5M-a-year. Serie A side Inter Milan is "willing to pay" Conte £12.5M ($16.1M)-a-year "to quit Stamford Bridge," but Abramovich "will offer the 47-year-old the biggest salary for a manager in Chelsea's history and ensure he leapfrogs both Klopp and Wenger in the earnings list." Chelsea already has £60M ($77.3M) "sitting in the bank" from the January sale of Oscar and, "together with the return of Champions League football next season, the club can afford to give Conte the funds to significantly boost his squad." Asked whether he could 100% guarantee he will be Chelsea's manager next season, Conte said, "Yeah, yeah. But I think we started to work, to do our work, and we have to improve in the next season" (TELEGRAPH, 5/13). In London, Matt Hughes reported Chelsea's players will receive a £5M ($6.4M) bonus. The £5M pot was sanctioned by Abramovich last summer and "will be shared by all of Conte's players, with greater rewards given to those who have made the most appearances" (LONDON TIMES, 5/12).
ABRAMOVICH ERA: Also in London, Nick Harris reported Chelsea's Premier League title win is its 14th major trophy under the ownership of Abramovich, who bought the club in the summer of '03 when it was "on the brink of administration." Chelsea will "end this season as the most successful English club in the period since then," having overtaken ManU. The success has "come at a cost," with Chelsea spending £806M ($1.04B) net on transfers under Abramovich's reign, and almost £2.4B ($3.1B) on wages. The club has also spent a "whopping" £71M "in compensation to axed managers down the years." Abramovich has "had to fund much of the glory from his own pockets rather than Chelsea's income." Chelsea's parent company, Fordstam, owes Abramovich £1.05B ($1.36B) "in loans according to the latest accounts, and rising." In the Abramovich era, ManU has spent less on transfers (£486M/$626M net) and wages (£2.1B/$2.7B) and at the same time "suffered" as more than £1B has been taken out of the club as a result of its ownership by the Glazer family since '05 (DAILY MAIL, 5/13).
