Why Chelsea will have just £10 million to spend if they win the Carabao Cup

Chelsea face a mammoth spending cap if they win the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool later this month.

On 25 February, the Blues take on Jurgen Klopp's side in a repeat of the 2022 showpiece which Liverpool won on penalties at Wembley.

It's a chance for Mauricio Pochettino to finally win a trophy in England in his first season at Stamford Bridge.

But while Chelsea are desperate to win a bit of silverware given their struggles in the Premier League, it could come at quite the cost.

If Chelsea win the final, they will qualify for next season's Conference League - UEFA's third European club competition - where a total of £15 million in prize money is up for grabs.

But the financial implications will not be all that great for Chelsea.

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According to the Daily Mirror, new Financial Fair Play rules brought in mean that clubs competing in Europe are only allowed to spend a maximum of 80 per cent of their revenue.

Chelsea, whose outlay on player wages is said to be around £360 million, are set set to boast a revenue less than £450 million for this season and next.

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As a result, they would only be able to spend £10 million on new signings - a far cry from the £1 billion Todd Boehly has splashed out since taking over the club in May 2022.

It would be an entirely different scenario if Chelsea qualified for next season's Champions League but heavy consecutive defeats to Liverpool and Wolves puts them in 11th place, 15 points off the top four.

Chelsea have developed a knack of handing out extremely long-term contracts to spread over costs but UEFA's FFP regulations will be done over a two-year period next term and only allow losses of £34 million per year.

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There are already rumours that a slew of departures could be on the cards, with big sales needed to comply with UEFA and Premier League rules.