Chelsea won the Club World Cup in 2022, nearly a year after lifting a second Champions League title. It was a final flourish for Roman Abramovich and a full stop to an era in which the Russian had overseen unprecedented success in west London.
Over 19 years, Stamford Bridge had hardly been a bastion of stability, with a revolving door to the dugout and the ruthless hand of the owner never far away from tapping club legends on the shoulder. But Chelsea always had consistency. This was a club built to win, from the youth ranks to the very ceiling of the organisation: they barely dropped out of contention for honours, during managerial turbulence or even a transfer ban.
Such studiness was expected to follow. Instead, the two years since have been packed with statements of intent, signals of a brand-new era really beginning and calls of false dawns. The Todd Boehly era has certainly been an eventful one…
May 2022: Chelsea are finally bought out, ending a long-running (and controversial) saga
In March 2022, Roman Abramovich announced that an almost two-decade-long association with Chelsea was to end. Due to “close ties with [the] Kremlin”, the British government froze his assets, forcing the businessman to pass ownership on.
Chelsea are put under unprecedented sanctions. The club have government-induced limits on spending, meaning that catering, travel and even matchday graphics are capped by spend, as various billionaires step forward to buy the club (including, reportedly, Sir Jim Ratcliffe). The whole situation comes under a lot of scrutiny, as some Chelsea fans continue to sing their now-former owner's name, while others question the measures in place.
Eventually, consortium BlueCo step forward to purchase the club. American businessman Todd Boehly is the public face of the takeover group, which also includes Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss. Walter and Boehly are owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers – and there's hope that at least these guys have sporting experience.
June 2022: Bruce Buck, Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech all leave their roles
The regime has changed hands – and naturally, Roman's closest exit the building. Bruce Buck, Chelsea's chairman since 2004 and a close advisor of Abramovich, leaves his post. Abramovich's former PA at Gazprom, turned chief assistant and 'Iron Lady' of transfers, Marina Granovskaia, also departs.
Perhaps the highest-profile exit, however, is that of iconic goalkeeper Petr Cech. Cech and Abramovich go way back, with the Russian allowing the keeper to join rivals Arsenal in 2015 as a personal favour – but far more than just being a mate of the old owner, Cech is seen as a true Chelsea man by supporters. Some are concerned that someone who just gets the club is leaving.
July 2022: The Blues sign statements of intent – though Tuchel clashes with his new director of football
The early Chelsea transfers make sense. Raheem Sterling is a £50 million opportunity from Manchester City and keen to prove a point in a position in which Chelsea lack cutting edge, while Kalidou Koulibaly adds experience to the backline. Fans are excited.
The ownership show their nous, too, by gazumping City for Marc Cucurella. There are stories that Boehly suggested the transfer to Brighton honcho, Tony Bloom, at an owner's meeting, and again, fans are positive about Boehly's ability to get things done in the market.
Stories of him suggesting to manager Thomas Tuchel around this time that the side play a 4-4-3 are less than positive. Oh, Americans, eh?
August 2022: The BlueCo era begins on the field – with mixed results
Amid all the excitement off the pitch, it's easy to forget there's a Premier League season to start, as Thomas Tuchel clashes with former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte when a handshake becomes a death grip. Yes, that happened that recently.
After beating Everton and drawing with Tottenham, the Blues end up losing 3-0 to Leeds United. It's here that reports claim that the owners have stopped talking with Tuchel, who is apparently difficult to engage with when it comes to new signings.
A week and a half after that Leeds loss, new Southampton buy Romeo Lavia scores the only goal to inflict a second loss in Chelsea's five in the league. Incredibly, Boehly launches a late-window bid to sign the Belgian as a result.
September 2022: Tuchel's team talk is interrupted
The weekend after a chastening defeat at St. Mary's, Chelsea head into the break at the Bridge drawing 0-0 with West Ham. Tuchel is reportedly delivering his half-time team talk, when there's a knock at the door: it's Boehly.
The American and his group of mates, including children, would like to meet the team. Tuchel flat-out refuses: obviously, he's busy. It seems like tensions are high already.
September 2022: Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang joins, as close ally for Thomas Tuchel
Chelsea have spent heavily during the transfer window but still haven't settled on a striker. In what looks like a clear sign that Tuchel is involved in recruitment, his old friend, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrives through the door late in the window.
Aubameyang knew Tuchel from his Dortmund days, winding up at Arsenal, who he captained before his contract was terminated in disgrace, back in January 2021. Auba's career was revitalised at Barcelona in the second half of last season, however, and so all the pressure on this deal is on Arsenal and Mikel Arteta to prove they don't need the Gabonese goal-getter, rather than Chelsea. A smart piece of business?
September 2022: Thomas Tuchel is sacked
Aubameyang's reunion with Tuchel lasts a whole 59 minutes against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. The German is sacked, with differences of opinion cited between him and his new overlords.
Reaction is mixed. Tuchel had struggled for a while to recapture the form that led the Blues to the 2021 Champions League, fumbling Romelu Lukaku's £100m signing – but it's a huge statement to bin him just six league games into the season.
September 2022: Graham Potter is hired
Chelsea move quickly and decisively for Graham Potter. The Brighton manager guts the Seagulls of their backroom team, uprooting them for the Bridge, in a bold new era for the Blues.
This isn't the proven winner that Abramovich would have insisted on: this is a promising young coach with a progressive vision, deserving of a step up to the elite. Potter signs a five-year contract and wins five his first six matches in charge, drawing the other. The decision looks like an exciting one for the long-term future of the club.
October 2022: Form drops
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang:"Arsenal... it's nothing personal. I'm back. I'm blue. I'm ready. Let's go!"[via @btsportfootball / @DJScottGarcia]pic.twitter.com/cXFq2XcJZaNovember 4, 2022
Aubameyang features in the BT Sport advert for Chelsea's clash against Arsenal, smirking into the camera that his cross-capital move was “nothing personal”. In response, the Gunners beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, with Gunners players tweeting Auba's “nothing personal” retort at their their former team-mate in the aftermath.
Chelsea fans are more used to inflicting embarrassment on their London rivals than the other way around in recent years. The autumn nadir punctuates a sorry run of form in which Chelsea draw 0-0 with Brentford and 1-1 with Manchester United, before losing to Newcastle and Potter's former employers, Brighton. Chelsea head into the World Cup eighth in the table.
January 2023: More signings are made
Chelsea return from the World Cup to pick up four points from the next 12, before serious work is done off the pitch. Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos as signed, as Boehly's commitment to the future is reaffirmed – before another huge ‘gazump’.
Mykhailo Mudryk looks assured to be signing for Arsenal for some £80m, only for Chelsea to swoop in last-minute. The Blues tie up the deal late in the week and parade the Ukrainian on the field for the weekend, draped in his national flag to shock the league – and they've not stopped there.
Deals for young talents Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto come next, before Joao Felix is signed on loan. Then comes the biggest signal of intent yet: the World Cup's most promising young starlet Enzo Fernandez signs for a nine-figure fee, just months after joining Benfica for pennies. The Blues mean business, alright. Europe is on.
February 2023: Boehly's Champions League plan is revealed
It's reported that in a meeting with agents, Todd Boehly is asked what the plan is after spending some £500m since arriving at Chelsea. The American tells his guests that that money will easily be recouped when his team play in the Champions League.
When Boehly is told that his team might not qualify, he has to leave the room to check whether Chelsea in fact do receive an automatic bye to the competition since they're there every season. Spoiler: they don't.
April 2023: Potter is sacked, as Lampard returns
@prideoflondon.cfc ♬ suara asli - king plat KT - Mr.bajak
At a fan event, Potter lays out his plans going forward for the rest of the season, ending his speech with, “and we're going to try and win the f***ing Champions League”. Those who know the mild-mannered, former Osterlunds coach say that such language is incredibly out of character.
Judging by his steady tenure at Brighton, so are the results. In his last 19 league matches, Chelsea have only managed four wins and seven draws, while sustaining eight losses. His final game is a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa, which follows the typical Potter pattern: his team generate the majority of chances, but don't exactly create many good ones.
Potter's five-year contract is ripped up mere months in. Frank Lampard is parachuted into the dugout, allegedly at the suggestion of top footballing mind… er, James Corden. Lampard's return does at least galvanise fans who still adore their former midfield general.
May 2023: Lampard loses his first six games
Lampard's first spell in charge of Chelsea exceeded expectations: he qualified for the Champions League, reached an FA Cup final and – according to his biggest fans and pundit mates, at least – laid the foundations for a Champions League-winning side.
The former No.8 cannot buy a win this time around. There's a genuine possibility of relegation, too. Boehly reportedly addresses his squad to call them “embarrassing” – and shockingly, that doesn't help.
Chelsea finish 12th. It's their worst finish since 1994.
June 2023: Major stars depart
Chelsea have an ageing squad who have underperformed – and the deadwood must go. Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Eduoard Mendy, Kai Havertz, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N'Golo Kante all leave in the firesale to end all firesales.
Perhaps most significantly, the new ownership are only offering academy graduate Mason Mount an extended, long-term deal in the style of other recent signings. Mount doesn't want to commit the next eight years of his life to such a contract – and is free to depart to Manchester United. Chelsea fans are unimpressed with him… but perhaps in time, they'll come around to realise he wasn't given too much choice on his future?
In the here and now, Cesar Azpilicueta, Christian Pulisic, Ethan Ampadu, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Callum Hudson-Odoi all follow. The squad is looking a starkly different, now.
July 2023: Pochettino joins as Chelsea rebuild
Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is installed as the next manager of the club, following his underwhelming stint at Paris Saint-Germain. It doesn't inspire many Blues fans but it is at least a steady hand.
The old guard, meanwhile, are replaced with promising talent. Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Diego Moreira, Angelo Gabriel, Lesley Ugochukwu, Axel Disasi, Robert Sanchez all join.
August 2023: Chelsea win the Caicedo battle – but ignore Pochettino's request for leaders
Liverpool agree terms with Brighton over the signing of Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian only wants Chelsea, however, and rejects the Reds for the Blues, in another £100m+ deal. It's a huge coup.
Pochettino, meanwhile, reportedly asks for two experienced players who have played for him before. This request is denied. Instead, the club rush through the signing of Cole Palmer late in the window.
September 2023: Chelsea are injury-ravaged and unlucky
Your Chelsea side today! 🙌@ParimatchUK | #BouChe pic.twitter.com/cfrKP0x83kSeptember 17, 2023
Nkunku has suffered a long-term injury on the cusp of the new season. Reece James is injured – and will be again in November before he undergoes surgery in December. They're just two of the casualties with Romeo Lavia injured, too, almost immediately (yes, they managed to get that deal done after wanting him 12 months earlier).
Despite all the money spent, Chelsea line up with Alex Matos, Alfie Gilchrist, Ronnie Stutter and two goalkeepers on the bench against Bournemouth. Chelsea win one of their first six fixtures. It takes until October for them to string two wins together and there's a consensus that Poch could have his marching orders before Christmas.
The general opinion from Chelsea supporters, however, is that the Argentine has been dealt cruel luck. Underlying numbers are promising, despite everything, and should Chelsea get a few more players back, perhaps they'll be able to finally turn a corner.
November 2023: New questions emerge over the Abramovich era
New reports emerge from the Guardian over how Roman Abramovich funded his Chelsea era. Files reveal a series of payments worth tens of millions routed through offshore vehicles, with the investigation suggesting that Eden Hazard's agent and an associate of Antonio Conte could have received huge payments.
There is huge concern from supporters, who fear some kind of points deduction or transfer ban could be on the horizon. Hardly ideal while BlueCo are trying to establish a bright, young future at this club.
January 2024: Things pick up – and no more signings are made
Chelsea win three in a row for the first time all season over Christmas and New Year. Even odder still, no one is signed in January.
A direct correlation between the two is as yet unclear – though Pochettino is leaning heavily on homegrown Conor Gallagher, despite having £200m worth of midfield talent at his disposal. Cole Palmer, by the way, is a revelation.
February 2024: Thiago Silva's wife questions Chelsea
It’s time to change. If you wait any longer it will be too late 💙💙February 4, 2024
“It’s time to change. If you wait any longer it will be too late,” tweets Bella Silva, including two blue love-heart emojis, while watching her husband's team lose 4-2 to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Thiago does at least score in the fixture.
Despite now being Chelsea's oldest-ever scorer, it looks incredibly unlikely that Silva will continue for another year at the Bridge, having joined three years prior on what felt at the time like a one-year-and-then-off-to-Brazil kind of move. Silva was snubbed for the captaincy at the start of the season by Pochettino, who still has other squad issues to sort.
February 2024: 'Billion-pound blue bottlejobs'
Chelsea take on Liverpool in the League Cup final. Jurgen Klopp is without several first-team stars – and makes the bold decision to substitute almost all the rest off when extra-time comes around. The Blues are given a golden opportunity to go for the jugular against a weakened Reds side.
They can't capitalise and lose to a Virgil van Dijk header. Sky pundit Gary Neville labels the team, “Billion-pound blue bottlejobs,” in an exasperated rant from the commentary gantry. Colleague Jamie Carragher suggests that may be the moniker that sticks with this group.
April 2024: Chelsea players argue over a penalty
Watch Chelsea players fight over who to take penalty pic.twitter.com/8XKhGWRyRhApril 16, 2024
As if Thiago Silva's wife dissenting wasn't enough, Chelsea now have infighting among their own players. And this comes in a win.
Cole Palmer has already scored a perfect hat-trick against Everton before being awarded a penalty. As the club's designed taker, he picks up the ball, only for Madueke and Jackson to argue with each other about taking the kick.
Where were they when someone needed to step up against Manchester United the other week? Palmer ignores the noise and steps up for his fourth of the game. Pochettino addresses yet another embarrassing incident as “a shame”: he looks furious.
May 2024: Chelsea have found their groove – but Pochettino still leaves
In stark contrast to last season, Chelsea end the season positively. They win their final five, lose just once following that Wolves debacle and qualify for the Europa Conference League, giving the club the chance to become the first to win all three current European trophies.
Yet Mauricio Pochettino will not be moving forwards. The Argentine leaves the club by mutual consent, with BlueCo perhaps looking for someone who wants less of a say in transfers. Fans are confused, as it looked as if things were finally clicking – despite never fully warming to the former Spurs boss.
Kieran McKenna is touted as a possible replacement, while Ruben Amorim is said to be interested. Jose Mourinho is linked with a shock third coming, too.
June 2024: The Enzo era begins
Chelsea hire Enzo Maresca, who's just got Leicester City promoted. Some are excited that a disciple of Pep Guardiola is stepping into the role; others are concerned that Leicester fans don't seem too gutted to be losing the Italian.
Meanwhile, BlueCo are jumping through hoops to comply with the Premier League's financial restrictions. Chelsea sell a hotel and their own women's team to themselves before working on a deal for Aston Villa youngster Omari Kellyman, sending full-back Ian Maatsen in the opposite direction. Other academy stars are touted for exits.
The Blues are just one of several Premier League clubs swapping academy prospects and wads of money like Uno cards to avoid breaking the rules. The whole lot of them come under fire for the practice.
July 2024: Spending continues, as preseasons begins atrociously
Preseason is far from ideal. A 2-2 draw with Wrexham starts the Enzo era before a 4-1 loss to Celtic, a 4-2 loss to Man City and a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid cast a massive spotlight on how poorly this team are playing out from the back right now.
Transfer business isn't easing worries, either. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Filip Jorgensen and Tosin Adarabioyo join specifically to help Maresca implement his ideals – though none of them are particularly exciting signings – before Aaron Anselmino, Renato Veiga and Marc Guiu all sign as prospects for the future. When are the Blues going to raise the ceiling of this squad, exactly?
July 2023: Enzo Fernandez causes more drama off the pitch
Enzo Fernandez livestreams celebrations of Argentina winning the Copa America, in which he and his team-mates abuse French players – despite not having played France, obviously. In the video, Fernandez leads a racist chant in which he claims French stars, “sleep with trans people”.
Clubmate Wesley Fofana reacts to condemn the video publicly, while Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi unfollow the Argentine midfielder. Fernandez later apologises to claim the chant does not “reflect my beliefs”, while Chelsea open an internal disciplinary procedure.
Fernandez returns to Chelsea, however, to find he has been given the vice-captaincy this season following his apology. Some are impressed with how he's owned the situation – though others are naturally confused by the decision.
August 2024: Maresca ostracises players, as Conor Gallagher leaves… to be replaced by a player Chelsea don't want
Chelsea want to sell academy grad Trevoh Chalobah for pure profit, so banish him from first-team training. A number of Chelsea fans are unhappy about this.
And Chalobah isn't the only one. Maresca says that Raheem Sterling is not his kind of player, while saying it's beneficial for Ben Chilwell to leave, too. Chelsea also want to move one of their players of last season, Conor Gallagher, onto Atletico Madrid. A deal is lined up with the Spanish giants, with Samu Omorodion to arrive in the opposite direction.
Only the deal for Omorodion falls through when it's reported that the striker is concerned over Chelsea asking for a percentage of future image rights. Now, the Blues have to sort a replacement player in the move, with Gallagher already in Madrid and having agreed a move.
Eventually, Joao Felix is the compromise. Do Chelsea want him? They claim so, announcing him as ‘home’ following his distinctly average loan spell the season before last.
Don't worry, though: Maresca says the 42-strong squad isn't actually as big as it looks, as he only works with 21 of those players. Sorted.
August 2024: Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson are rewarded with new deals
The genius, we were told, in giving players long contracts on low wages was that Chelsea could not only sell players for more than they were worth, but they could tie up stars of tomorrow for cheaper than their rivals. It makes sense on paper at least: less so when Cole Palmer's agent rightfully approaches the club asking for a raise, as y'know, their best player.
Chelsea grant the request and extend his deal to 2033. Nicolas Jackson follows with another bumper extension days later. Some worry the business model is already under pressure; others see it as good business to reward the best players.
September 2024: Chelsea pay Arsenal for Sterling to play for them, as Osimhen deal breaks down
Chelsea are looking to add goals deep into Deadline Day – but can't get a move for Victor Osimhen over the line in time. As a consolation, they instead sanction a loan with an obligation to buy… Jadon Sancho.
In perhaps their most headline-worthy business of the day, meanwhile, Raheem Sterling joins rivals Arsenal on loan. Arsenal don't want to pay a loan fee or foot the bill for the wages – it's reported, therefore, that the Blues will pay over 50 per cent of his salary while he heads to north London. Not Chelsea's finest move, that.
September 2024: Chelsea name their European squad with major omissions
In qualifying for the Conference League, Chelsea cited “load management” for an interesting squad in the competition: Fofana and Lavia missing out seemed sensible given injuries, while Chilwell isn't particularly wanted by Maresca. But Palmer?
Given how big the Blues' group is, there were always going to be victims. Bit of a risk not to pick your best player, mind…
September 2024: Reports emerge that Chelsea board is on the brink
Just over two years on from their brave new venture, chairman Boehly and majority owners Clearlake Capital have both decided they want a divorce. Chelsea's co-owners want to buy each other out, following disagreements on how to run the club.
The BBC report on a rift between Behdad Eghbali's Clearlake and Boehly's faction (which includes partners Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter) – though Chelsea themselves deny such rumours.
Just the billion pounds spent in two years, as BlueCo have revolutionised the very model of football ownership. What's next for Chelsea?
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