Chelsea captain Reece James has had a horrible time with injuries in recent years but appears to be using his hours in the treatment room wisely.
Chelsea have accepted that James will not play again in 2024 after aggravating the hamstring injury that sidelined him for most of 2023-24.
The good news is that the 25-year-old Cobham academy graduate is not believed to need surgery to address the issue.
James is one of Chelsea’s biggest earners, taking home a reported £250,000 per week.
And while it is no fault of his own, that doesn’t exactly look like good value for money for the Blues at present, especially while Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) remain a concern.
James is interested in business and is represented by Unique Sports Group, whose clients include England teammates Anthony Gordon and Marc Guehi.
He appears to be well advised and, as well as his clothing brand REEJAM, has now helped launched another business venture alongside another former England colleague, Man United’s Harry Maguire.
Reece James and Harry Maguire invest in AI firm
In the modern era, footballers are far more aware of the ecosystem that legal and financial ecosystem that surrounds the game they perhaps were in previous generations.
This is partly because of the lawfare that has gripped the Premier League in recent years, with Man City’s hearing over 115 alleged instances of financial misconduct the apex of this phenomenon.
There are other issues that have not got anywhere near as much attention too but which could be just as if not more significant for Chelsea.
For one, Todd Boehly and Clearlake have self-reported to the club for potential financial breaches that pre-date their time at Stamford Bridge.
The Premier League are currently investigating those apparent occurrences from the Roman Abramovich era.
What’s more, a former Chelsea star in Lassana Diarra has recently won a case at the European Court of Justice that threatens to be as potentially seismic as the 1995 Bosman Ruling. More on that later.
Could this collage of events be partly why James has invested alongside Harry Maguire in a AI-powered law startup?
As relayed by CityAM, the two defenders – who together have a combined 80 caps for England – are part of a consortium that have injected £31.5m worth of capital in Lawhive.
The tech firm is pushing into the US market with its platform which aims to automate legal administrative tasks using AI.
- READ MORE: £40m Chelsea player has now said yes to joining AC Milan after being overlooked by Enzo Maresca
The Lassana Diarra Ruling: How ex-Chelsea star could change football forever
Diarra, who played for Chelsea between 2005 and 2007, later going on to turn out for Arsenal, Portsmouth and Real Madrid among other clubs.
In 2015, however, was refused an international transfer certificate by FIFA for a proposed move to Belgian side Charleroi after it was ruled that he had terminated his Lokomotiv Moscow his contract early without just cause.
The proposed transfer fell through as Charleroi were not willing to pay compensation. It was something of a soap opera at the time, but Diarra has bee arguing that the ordeal breached the European Union’s freedom of movement law ever since.
Now, the continent’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, has agreed with him.
This has led to FIFA to consider emergency revisions to its global transfer system. Many legal commentators believe it could completely change how players move between clubs and the balance of power within the game.
As a measure of how serious world football’s governing body is taking the matter, they have suspended all disciplinary action until they have reached a resolution.
How might it affect Chelsea? For one, it seems likely that the ‘bomb squad’ treatment reserved for Raheem Sterling and a number of other players last summer would likely be grounds for a player to terminate his contract early.
There is no telling exactly how the legal saga will end, but it could have a material impact on Chelsea and their peers for years to come.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
