Chelsea agree to pay-off Barkley £200k a week wages with a year left on his deal

Chelsea have terminated the deal of out-of-favour midfielder Ross Barkley and agreed to pay off the final year of his £200,000 a week contract.

The 28-year-old has fallen way down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, and despite being involved on the clubs pre-season tour of the US, has not featured in any of Thomas Tuchel's Premier League squads.

The former Everton prodigy arrived at Stamford Bridge for £15milion in January 2018 and was assigned the number 8 shirt - previously worn by legendary Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.

Yet, despite becoming a first-team regular at Stamford Bridge during the 2018-19 season, game time after that slowly dwindled.

He was sent on loan to Aston Villa in 2020-21 and started brightly, before he failed to live up to the initial hype and returned to Stamford Bridge.

Barkley has played just 215 minutes in the Premier League for Chelsea over the past two seasons and his decline is a stark contrast to the beginning of his career.

He debuted for Everton as a teenager and was regarded as one of the most talented players in the country, while he has also won 33 caps for England.

He was part of England's squad at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and Euro 2016, but hasn't featured for his nation since October 2019.

Barkley still had a year left on his £200,000 a week deal before Chelsea terminated his contract at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues unable to shift the midfielder any other way.

The midfielder made 100 appearances for Chelsea in total and will now hope to revive his career elsewhere.

A statement on the Chelsea club website announcing Barkley's departure said: 'We would like to thank Ross for his contribution to Chelsea and wish him well for the rest of his career.'

Chelsea have had a busy summer under new ownership, recruiting Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella. They hope to add both Anthony Gordon and Leicester's Wesley Fofana this week before the transfer window slams shut at 11PM on Thursday.