Chelsea face staggering £25m pay-out over Mourinho… before losing another £40m

Diego Simeone (left) may replace Jose Mourinho at Chelsea

CHELSEA will lose £25million if they change their manager.

 

That is according to the Daily Telegraph, who claim Jose Mourinho would demand at least £10m in compensation should Roman Abramovich sack the head coach.

Mourinho, 52, only signed a new four-year contract at Chelsea this summer.

And first choice candidate to take over from Mourinho, Diego Simeone, will cost the Blues a small fortune as well.

Simeone has a release clause in his Atletico Madrid contract set at £15m.

It is understood the 45-year-old wants to remain in Spain until next summer, where he may be offered the Argentina role leading up to the 2018 World Cup.

But Abramovich believes he can get his man if Mourinho fails to turn around Chelsea's fortunes.

The defending Premier League champions sit 16th in the table after losing seven of their opening 12 top-flight games of the campaign.

They are already 15 points behind league leaders Manchester City and Arsenal and are just three points above the relegation zone.

 

Chelsea are also set to lose a minimum £40m if they fail to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Leicester City and Manchester United currently take up the third and fourth spots in the table, with Chelsea required to overhaul a 13-point gap or win this season's Champions League if they are to return to Europe's elite club competition.