Chelsea player contracts: When do they expire?

After Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government on Thursday, Chelsea are currently unable to hand out new contracts to players.

This is according to various outlets including The Times, who report: “It will be impossible to renegotiate contracts with existing players, but existing players and staff’s salaries will still be paid under the licence. An emergency meeting is taking place at Stamford Bridge this morning.”

Abramovich is unable to sell Chelsea, as things stand, after his assets were frozen. However, the sale could still go ahead if no proceeds went to the Russian billionaire, according to a report from iNews.

The Blues have been given a special license to continue with football-related activities but can’t sell tickets to fans who aren’t season-ticket holders. The club’s merchandise shop has also been closed.

While staff and players will be paid, Chelsea will not be able to sign players or award existing squad members with new deals.

There are currently eight players on Chelsea’s books whose contracts expire this summer, per Sportrac, Transfermarkt and other sources:

Antonio Rudiger

Andreas Christensen

Cesar Azpilicueta

Charly Musonda Jr

Danny Drinkwater

Baba Rahman

Jake Clarke-Salter

Saul Niguez (End of loan)

All of these players, including club captain Azpilicueta, are now on course to leave Stamford Bridge this summer as free agents.

N’Golo Kante

Jorginho

Marcos Alonso

Ross Barkley

Kenedy

Thiago Silva

Marcus Bettinelli

Matt Miazga

Michy Batshuayi

Billy Gilmour

Nathan Baxter

All of these players will be able to negotiate deals with overseas clubs from January 1, 2023.

Mason Mount

Mateo Kovacic

Christian Pulisic

Callum Hudson-Odoi

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Ethan Ampadu

Tiemoue Bakayoko

With just over two