Jason Cundy admits that Europa League football will make it more difficult for Chelsea to keep hold of their star players such as Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois.
The Blues went down 3-1 at home against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, a result which now means they are likely to be playing Europa League football next season and will be absent from the Champions League.
Both Courtois and Hazard have been linked with Real Madrid and Cundy accepts that Chelsea's task in keeping the pair will become tougher outside the Champions League.
But he insists if a player is desperate to leave for Real Madrid then in the grand scheme of things missing out on the Champions League does not matter that much.
"That's the biggest concern from a Chelsea fan's point of view [about the Europa League]", he said on Chelsea TV.
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"It's holding onto our stellar players – Hazard, Courtois, [N’Golo] Kante, to name just three.
"I think it makes it harder [to keep them].
"I also think if a player decides his future is elsewhere and, let's be honest, Real Madrid a bigger club, talking mainly Courtois and Hazard, in terms of our pecking order [it doesn’t matter that much]", Cundy added.
Hazard has regularly been linked with a switch to Real Madrid, while with Los Blancos in the market for a new goalkeeper, Courtois is considered a leading contender for the role.
