Roman Abramovich dangles £14.5m carrot to Chelsea players

[Mighty T.A.L.]

Chelsea's top players will pocket nearly £600,000 each in bonuses if they win both the Barclays Premier League and European Cup. Owner Roman Abramovich will fork out nearly £14.5million in incentives if the team complete the dream double.

If they pip Manchester United to the Premier League title on Sunday's dramatic final day of the season, the payment schedule drawn up at the start of the season authorises a £2.6m bonus to be shared among the squad.

Some of the players will then earn up to another £369,000 each if they go on to beat United in the Champions League Final in Moscow a fortnight today.

The bonus scheme is operated on a pro-rata basis and means that Joe Cole and Claude Makelele, the only two players to have participated in all Chelsea's 12 Champions League matches this season, stand to make the most money.

Cole will pocket £217,000 if they win the Premier League and a further £369,000 if they lift the European Cup — a total of £586,000.

Chelsea will have paid £9.36m in Champions League bonuses if they win the competition and just over £5m will have been paid to the squad in incentives should they win the Premier League.

Manchester United players can earn bonuses of up to £100,000 for winning the Champions League and up to £200,000 for lifting the European Cup.

Chelsea's players, who are already paid up to £130,000 a week, agreed their bonus structure with chief executive Peter Kenyon before the start of the season.

Each Champions League victory in the group stages was rewarded with a £10,000 bonus. The side who drew against Rosenborg 1-1 in Jose Mourinho's last game were paid £3,000 as part of the incentive scheme.

The riches on offer increase as Chelsea progress. The 25-man Champions League squad shared a £500,000 bonus for finishing top of their group and were on £15,000 a win and £5,000 a man for the second-round draw against Olympiacos.

Similar sums were paid after they won their quarter-final clash against Fenerbahce and they also distributed a £750,000 prize pool among the squad registered with UEFA.

The Champions League squad shared a £1.5m bonus for beating Liverpool in the semi-final last week and a further £3m is up for grabs between the 25 players in the squad for Moscow.

Chelsea's players are paid £5,000 for each Premier League victory, provided they are in the top four, and £1,000 for each point in the league.

Around £3m will be shared between the squad if they win the title on Sunday. Despite the potential to win a third Premier League title, Chelsea's players have not made any preparations for the prospect.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant has given his players Monday and Tuesday off next week before they begin their build-up for Moscow.

Monday's 2-0 victory over Newcastle ensured the title race would continue until the last day of the season, when United visit Wigan and Chelsea entertain Bolton.

Ricardo Carvalho's fitness will be assessed today after the defender was withdrawn 11 minutes from time at Newcastle with a back problem.

The Daily Mail