How much is Raheem Sterling's Chelsea contract worth?

Raheem Sterling is set to join Chelsea from Manchester City. How much will the England winger earn with the Blues?

Chelsea will pay Manchester City £50m/€59m to acquire Sterling - a relative snip set against the €77 million he is ranked at by Football Transfers' sophisticated in-house algorithm - but the real cost will set in over the duration of his contract, with Sterling set to become the Blues' highest-paid player.

Sterling will earn a reported £300k/€354k per week at Chelsea which equates to £15.6m/€18.4m year - putting him above N'Golo Kante at the top of the club's salary structure.

It is approximately the same amount the 27-year-old earned at Manchester City, which made him the second-highest paid player at the Etihad behind Kevin De Bruyne, and within Chelsea's budget, but it could also have a knock-on effect at Stamford Bridge.

Mount-ing squad issues?

With Liverpool and City already on his footballing CV, Sterling has managed to drive up his salary. But Mason Mount and Reece James earn significantly less as Chelsea academy graduates, despite having risen to prominence and joined Sterling in the England squad in recent seasons.

Mount and James have three and two years left on their contracts, their current deals earning them £4.6m and £3m per year respectively. New owner Todd Boehly is keen to tie the pair down to longer-term deals, as Chelsea look to secure their squad.

The Blues lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers to Real Madrid and Barcelona this summer, and although Sterling is inbound, more arrivals can be expected for the 2021 European champions, who could only finish third in the Premier League last season.

"We are affected by it, players are going out," said coach Thomas Tuchel. "We are rebuilding, not improving the squad. We are rebuilding. This is always challenging, but we are up for the challenge."