TODD BOEHLY reportedly tore into Chelsea’s flops during an explosive hour-long rant after the Brighton defeat.
Co-owner Boehly splashed out £4.25billion to buy the club from Roman Abramovich last May and a further £600million on new signings in his first season.
However, it has not paid off yet with the Blues, currently way down in 11th in the Premier League, on to a third manager of the campaign in interim boss Frank Lampard.
Boehly was pictured gesticulating and appearing to argue with frustrated fans from the directors’ box during Saturday’s 2-1 loss at home to Brighton – a third defeat out of three for Lamps.
And after the game, the American billionaire went down into the dressing room at Stamford Bridge for a full 60 minutes alongside co-owners Behdad Eghbali and fellow board member Hansjorg Wyss.
As reported by The Telegraph, the trio made their feelings known after Lampard had addressed the squad.
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Boehly allegedly labelled the current struggles as “embarrassing”, falling well short of the standards and expectations of the board and insisted they had spent big in the transfer market in order to win trophies.
According to The Guardian, one senior player – signed for a big fee in the last 12 months – is said to have been singled out by Boehly, with that star allegedly feeling disillusioned and disgruntled.
One source told The Guardian the “whole thing was weird” but Lampard and No1 Kepa Arrizabalaga tried to play it down.
Interim boss Lampard said: “I’m comfortable with Boehly entering the dressing room.
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“There was criticism of our old owner not coming to games, that wasn’t always true.
“But when an owner is very invested it’s their prerogative to have the input they want, it shows passion.”
Kepa added: “Todd comes to the changing room in every game. He had different chats with us after different games.
“I am not going to say what he said. It is normal when he came.”
It is understood the co-owner did end his speech a positive note, though, trying to motivate the players ahead of the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
Chelsea trail 2-0 – despite the owner boldly predicting a 3-0 win in the Bernabeu – going into tomorrow’s return fixture at Stamford Bridge.
Boehly told the underperforming players that dumping out the holders is their chance to keep the season alive, stop the rot and give the fans something to cheer at long last.
While the hands-on approach shows Boehly and Eghbali are taking their ownership seriously there is no doubt that, barring a miracle in Europe, this first season will be a major failure.
The eye-watering outlay on players and dismissal of two head coaches will only worsen the financial situation, too.
Missing out on European football will further compound the issues, with the Blues reporting losses of £121.3m for 2021-22 and £274m across the last two campaigns.
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That has prompted a Stamford Bridge panic with pressure mounting on Boehly to cut the losses and balance the books or risk Financial Fair Play sanctions.
As a result, as many as eight first-team players including Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic could be sold in the summer – while N’Golo Kante is at risk of being released as a free agent.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
