Report: Chelsea players to avoid financial hit if club misses Champions League

Finishing outside of the Premier League's top four will not have any financial affect on Chelsea's players, as Matt Law of The Telegraph reports that their salaries will remain untouched even if they fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.

Only the club itself would shoulder any financial losses, thought to be at least £40 million, in the event that Chelsea cannot reverse its fortunes and figure its way into Europe's top competition. A top earner like Eden Hazard, who is reportedly netting £200,000 a week, would claim his pay cheque in full no matter where his team finishes in the league table.

Law notes that Chelsea operates on an antiquated payroll system. Player contracts are not based on performance, despite an overwhelming trend among Europe's preeminent clubs to embrace that approach. The Blues do hand out bonuses to their players if the team manages to win a trophy, but there is no difference in pay if the club finishes in second or 17th.

There are also no relegation clauses in their contracts, according to various reports in the British press, meaning their wages would remain in tact if Chelsea realizes the even rarer possibility of finishing in one of the Premier League's bottom three spots.

Chelsea's yearly wage bill hovers around £200 million, and although its chunk of the Premier League's profitable TV deal would counteract against any heavy losses, the absence of Champions League football would still have an impact on the club's transfer activity. Hazard, Diego Costa, and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois are the likeliest players to be targeted by Europe's top teams, according to Law.

The Blues, currently in 13th position, have won just two league games under caretaker manager Guus Hiddink. Their lowest finish in the Roman Abramovich era, a sixth-place standing, came during the 2011-12 season - the same year they won the Champions League.