Chelsea players will share £10m bonus pot if they win Champions League final

Chelsea players will divide a bonus pot of £10 million for winning the club’s second Champions League title later this month.

Thomas Tuchel’s men earned a place in the final with Wednesday’s semi-final win over Real Madrid and will be rewarded for defeating Manchester City on May 29.

Their “player incentive scheme/schedule” sets out bonuses for trophies each season and winning Europe’s top prize will see Chelsea’s players split an eight-figure sum between them. They will receive £5m as a runners-up bonus should they lose.

Under the terms of the schedule, 10 per cent of the pot gets distributed by the club and players’ committee, which means players out with long-term injuries would not miss out. It would also go to players who were mainly unused substitutes or in the matchday squad but not on the bench.

The rest of the 90 per cent is spread across the squad depending on how many appearances are made as a starter or substitute. This season N’Golo Kante has made 12 appearances in the competition, which is the most in the squad, while Edouard Mendy, Jorginho, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have made 11.

City have a slightly different approach to bonuses with many of their first-team players getting them written into their contracts, rather than having a pool to divide between the squad as the main incentive. Their top earners could land £1m each for winning the club’s first Champions League.

Both clubs have played 12 games to reach the final, with Frank Lampard and Tuchel between them using 24 players as they juggled their squad to cope with the Premier League and domestic cup competitions.

Mendy and Jorginho have started the most Champions League games this season, with 11 each. Mendy only conceded one goal in the group stages, which came against his former club Rennes, and was only beaten by Karim Benzema in the knockout stages.

Leicester's players also set to be in the money if they qualify for the Champions League

By John Percy

Leicester City’s squad will land a minimum £10 million bonus if they secure a place in next season’s Champions League.

Brendan Rodgers’s players are fighting for a top-four finish and will share a substantial windfall should they succeed in their mission to return to European football’s elite competition.

The bonus scheme was agreed before the start of the season and will be split among the squad if they qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the 2016/17 campaign.

It is understood that a minimum £10 million will be paid out if Leicester finish fourth, with an increase in money if they end the season higher in the table.

Leicester missed out on a place in the Champions League after losing to Manchester United at home on the final day of last season and this year their destiny remains in their hands, with four games remaining.

Rodgers faces Newcastle on Friday night with his team in third place, five points ahead of West Ham who are fifth.

He said: “We've already beaten last season's number of points, can we now finish the season strongly? Let's see where it takes us at the end of the season.

“It's a tough run of games but it will be tough for the other teams too, so for us we'll look at Newcastle and take our best game into that.

“It’s going to be tight, right to the end, and I’ve always thought that. All we can do is concentrate on ourselves and do our own job.

“I've always said that we'll see where we're at after 38 games and we'll know if we're in the top-four or not.”

Leicester are also preparing to face Champions League finalists Chelsea in the FA Cup final later this month, with Rodgers demanding full focus from his squad.

Victory over Newcastle at the King Power Stadium would lift Leicester five points clear of fourth-placed Chelsea, who they must also play in the league at Stamford Bridge.

Rodgers said: “Of course there will always be nerves and anxiety around the final, but you always want to bring your best into every game.

“That’s the nature of the big clubs - they have the big mentalities, you can’t just turn it on and off.

“You have to prepare every day, we’re going into the Newcastle match which is a massive game for us, as Manchester United will be, as will the FA Cup final.”

Jonny Evans, the defender, has been cleared to play after a scan on a heel issue.