Jose Mourinho set for huge payout if Chelsea wield axe on under-pressure boss

Jose Mourinho is in line for a payout of over £30million if Chelsea stage a u-turn and sack him.

The Champions pledged on Monday to stick by the under-pressure Portuguese, despite the club sitting 16th after four League defeats already this season.

Mourinho signed a lucrative new deal worth around £8.5million-a-year two months ago after winning the League in May and the Capital One Cup three months earlier.

The deal was intended to tie the 52-year-old to the club until 2019 and Chelsea remain hopeful that he will lead them out of their slump and build a dynasty.

Last Saturday’s shock defeat at home to Southampton, however, has left the club in danger of not making the Champions League.

Should Chelsea lose at home to Aston Villa after the international break the club could yet revisit Mourinho’s position.

No team in Premier League history has ever made it into the top four after picking up just eight points, as Chelsea have, from their first eight games.