The Chelsea chairman, Bruce Buck, has warned those players negotiating new contracts at the club that the champions must be "very careful" with salaries, given Uefa proposals aimed at ensuring clubs balance their books.
Talks with Joe Cole and Michael Ballack remain ongoing, with their deals due to expire at the end of next month, and Nicolas Anelka is expected to sign a contract extension, most likely after the World Cup finals. Yet any hopes those players might have had of securing vastly improved terms appear to have been scuppered as Chelsea attempt to regulate outgoings.
The Uefa proposals are due to be implemented for the 2012-13 season and would see clubs limited to spending what they earn through football-related income. Although Chelsea harbour doubts about the "one size fits all" nature of the regulations, the approach tallies with their attempts to become self-sufficient, even if they retain the ability through the benevolence of their owner Roman Abramovich to compete for major signings if the price is deemed appropriate.
Buck said: "We have looked very closely at the proposed rules and, starting now, we are going to have to be very careful on transfer fees and in salary renegotiation because having a positive profit and loss statement will be crucial in getting a Uefa licence and participating in the Champions League. Even if we wanted to spend more money we just won't be able to, so we have to do what is necessary to comply with the new rules."
Ballack is hopeful of signing a new deal having impressed over the last few months of the Double-winning season, with the length of the contract to be finalised. Cole's future is less clear and, with the player training with the England squad in Austria, is unlikely to be resolved quickly unless the 29-year-old fails to make Fabio Capello's final 23-man party for the tournament in South Africa. At present, player and club remain at odds over the terms of a new deal.
Chelsea hope to raise money through sales this summer, with Deco, Paulo Ferreira and, potentially, Ricardo Carvalho likely to attract interest. That would provide Carlo Ancelotti with funds to refresh his squad, though a more eye-catching signing – such as Fernando Torres or Sergio Agüero – would rely heavily on Abramovich providing a one-off injection of cash.
Buck believes new rules concerning owner-investment could choke clubs' ambition. "In round terms your football income is going to have to equal your football expenses," he said. "I think, personally, it is very significantly different if a club gets money from its owner than a club going out and borrowing money from a bank, and I think the rules ought to take account of that. It is unclear at the moment whether they will.
"One of the problems that we see with the current formulation is that it is going to maintain the status quo. In other words, if owners cannot put money into their clubs, then it is going to be very difficult for the club that is, say, at the bottom of the Premier League to work its way up to the top or a club from the Championship to move into a respectable position in the Premier League. We don't think maintaining the status quo is right."
