The recently released financial report of Brighton & Hove Albion for the 2021-2022 season reveals that Chelsea paid a whopping £21.5 million to hire Graham Potter from the AMEX Stadium to Stamford Bridge, making him the most expensive manager of all time.
The sum paid by Chelsea for Potter surpassed the £17.4 million Bayern Munich paid RB Leipzig for Julian Nagelsmann in the summer of 2021 and the £13.9 million Real Madrid paid for Jose Mourinho in 2010.
Potter’s move to Chelsea also involved him taking five of his team members, including Billy Reid, Bjon Hamberg, Bruno, Ben Roberts, and Kyle Macaulay, with him.
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In addition, Brighton would have received an additional fee for the head of recruitment, Paul Winstanley, who also joined Chelsea in a separate transfer two months later.
Brighton’s 2021-22 accounts further record that Roberto De Zerbi was appointed as the club’s new head coach on September 18, 2022, following Potter’s departure. Brighton received a significant sum from Chelsea as part of the deal for Potter and his team.
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Potter’s departure and the subsequent appointment of De Zerbi make him the fifth-most expensive outgoing transfer in the history of the Seagulls, behind Marc Cucurella (£62m), Ben White (£50m), Leandro Trossard (£25m), and Yves Bissouma (£25m).
As Roberto De Zerbi was out of work after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk due to the war in Ukraine, Brighton did not have to spend any of the money they received for Potter to appoint his replacement.
Brighton’s financial report refers to this as “Post Balance Sheet Events.“
