Chelsea have a genuine American flavour

The majority of English clubs have passed into the hands of capital from outside their shores. Tradition has given way to decisions made on the cheap and with little sporting criteria. There are many, but Chelsea are a prime example of this metamorphosis.

The London club was one of the first, passing into Russian hands. The war in Ukraine forced the departure of Roman Abramovich, who put Chelsea in the hands of the consortium formed by Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital fund.

He admits he has the aim of doing something great in Europe, but the transition from the North American model to the European one is causing him problems.

Boehly has one of the largest fortunes in the United States: some of his businesses have gone hand in hand with sports such as baseball, women’s basketball and even wrestling. On his arrival in Europe, he found Thomas Tuchel on the bench but he was not impressed.

The German, moreover, was determined to go against the club in public and while he was close to his exit from the dugout, Boehly took a private plane to meet with several coaches. No matter where they were, he would fly them there to meet him.

Not all of these meetings lasted long. They didn’t speak the same language. While he was all about numbers and money, very much in the money ball style, the coaches didn’t understand that language very well.

As soon as he could, he sacked Tuchel and as he didn’t convince the managers he spoke to, he found Graham Potter, an expert in refloating sinking ships. He also got rid of the sporting management.

The former Brighton man held on until a fortnight ago, when he was sacked to everyone’s surprise, starting with the Chelsea players who thought he was going to continue with the Champions League still at stake.

In order to draw attention to himself, Boehly went one step further, deciding that Frank Lampard would become Chelsea’s third coach so far this season and that he was sacked from Stamford Bridge in 2021 for clear incompatibility with the dressing room and that two months earlier he had been sacked from Everton. Does anyone understand anything? In the dressing room of Real Madrid’s rivals, nobody understands.

He didn’t know Paolo Maldini

Back to Boehly the negotiator, many of those who have sat around a table with him have failed to understand his methods, so far removed from football. In the middle of the summer, he travelled to Barcelona at a time when Marcos Alonso, Azpilicueta, Aubameyang… and others were being talked about.

He travelled to make himself known because he didn’t negotiate, he didn’t negotiate at all. Or when, with the market close to closing, he was more interested in Aubameyang’s car than in closing the deal to satisfy Tuchel.

His maxim comes before sporting demands and that is where the numbers come in. He failed to understand that there was talk of Azipilicueta’s departure when his numbers were equal to or better than any defender and that his possible replacement would be ten times more expensive than renewing him.

There is a goal in everything. He makes no secret of it. One of the signings of the winter was Mudryk, for whom 100 million euros was paid, part of the money going to Ukraine’s war effort. On his arrival he made the striker appear at Stamford Bridge with the flag of his country, in what they say was a loaded gesture of message for Chelsea’s previous Russian ownership.

During a match, surrounded by football people, he met Paolo Maldini, whom he did not recognise, and asked him if he had played in the Champions League. You already know the answer. He reacted, but it was clear that he had no news of the Italian.

In recent months he has been trying to get closer to Chelsea fans, who do not quite understand his management style, the same one who has proposed to the Premier League to make an All Star in the style of sports in the United States. You know, genuine American flavour.