Maurizio Sarri has become Chelsea’s very own Golden Balls by earning the club a huge Champions League windfall.

But head coach Sarri and his Blues players will have to win the Europa League to land any bonuses of their own.

Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Watford, coupled with Arsenal’s draw against Brighton, clinched a return to the Champions League which is worth upwards of £35 million to the club.

Eagle-eyed Italian football fans noticed that superstitious Sarri left nothing to chance after Chelsea’s success on Sunday, which put them on the brink of Champions League qualification, ahead of Arsenal’s match against Brighton.

Sarri was asked in the Watford post-match press conference whether, with Champions League qualification virtually secured, his team could treat the Europa League as a luxury.

Before answering the question, Sarri was seen to reach down under the desk before returning his hand to the table and telling reporters that he wanted Chelsea to qualify for the Champions League through the Premier League.

In much the same way as people touch wood to avoid bad luck, it is commonplace for superstitious Italians to touch their own nether regions in order to bring them luck.

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Sarri is famed for being incredibly superstitious and it appears a brush of his Golden Balls may have helped Chelsea over the line as, just a couple of hours later, Arsenal surprisingly failed to beat Brighton and the Blues’ Champions League qualification was guaranteed.

Despite the doubts over Sarri’s future, Chelsea chiefs are delighted that Champions League qualification has been secured with one Premier League game to spare.

But, as first revealed by Jose Mourinho in 2015, Chelsea only hand out bonuses to their managers and players if they win a trophy.

That means Sarri and his players will need to win the Europa League to pocket any extra income and they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their semi-final on Thursday night, having drawn 1-1 in Germany last week.