Didier Drogba has claimed his former club Chelsea is “lacking class” under new owner Todd Boehly.
Boehly led a consortium to buy the Premier League side from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich earlier this year.
The 48-year-old has already spent more than £250m on new players over the summer and then sacked Thomas Tuchel as manager after just seven games of the new season.
Boehly has, however, come under fire for suggesting the Premier League should launch a North versus South All-Star game and also for reportedly sacking several members of Chelsea’s backroom team, including their head of medical and chief physio.
During his time at Stamford Bridge, Drogba enjoyed a good relationship under Abramovich and feels that is no longer the case.
“I knew this club with a certain class during the Roman Abramovich era, but today I find it lacking.
“It’s very hard for me to see how they got rid of certain people, for example the physiotherapists, who were there for a very long time. They should go back to the principles and values they had,” Drogba told Canal+.
Chelsea are prepared to make a world record bid for Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana.
The Blues are desperate to give manager Thomas Tuchel another top-class centre-back before the transfer window shuts.
Todd Boehly has already spent £35m on Kalidou Koulibaly this summer as a centre-back but the new American owner is being made to pay more than double that for the 21-year-old target, with their first offer falling well short of Leicester’s valuation.
Fofana is very highly rated in the Premier League, and Leicester are adamant he is not for sale.
According to football.london, the Blues are ready to put in a bid that would make Fofana the most expensive defender in the world.
The 21-year-old is going to cost Chelsea a minimum of £85 million, if they are serious about securing his signature.
The previous record is also a sale by Leicester – the transfer that took Harry Maguire to Manchester United for £80 million in 2018.
Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel says new owner Todd Boehly backed him in their pursuit of former Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling.
Tuchel was quick to pinpoint the City man who, with just a year left on his contract, was keen to secure regular first-team football.
“I gave his name to Todd straight away,” he explains. “He’s horrible to play against, horrible. The main point is his intensity and the amount of repetition of intensity that he delivers. This is simply outstanding over the last years.
“He caused huge trouble when he played against us and once you dig in deeper into his data and not only statistics in his goal involvements, it’s outstanding.
“It’s exactly what we need to raise the level of our players. That’s why we are so sure and that’s why he was, for us, top of the list.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he is not for sale after Chelsea owner, Todd Boehly, reportedly spoke with the Manchester United forward’s agent Jorge Mendes, talks which have left Old Trafford senior management furious.
Chelsea made a shocking move for Ronaldo after Chelsea owner was said to have held talks with agent Jorge Mendes.
The 37-year-old is entering the final year of his contract with Manchester United and according to The Athletic, Ronaldo is concerned about the club not matching his ambition in the transfer window after a disappointing season.
It’s claimed that new Chelsea owner Boehly held talk with Mendes in Portugal, with Ronaldo’s future and a potential move to Stamford Bridge one of the subjects discussed.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United plan on keeping their star man and it is largely expected that he will remain at the club he loves, while it is not clear whether Chelsea will make a serious move for the striker.
In a relative story, Manchester United could end up missing out on their number summer transfer target.
That’s according to a recent report from Spanish outlet Cadena SER, who claim midfielder Frenkie De Jong is refusing to quit Barcelona.
Understood to be at the very top of Erik ten Hag’s summer wishlist, De Jong’s proposed move to Old Trafford has been viewed as integral to how the beginning of the Dutchman’s reign will play out.
However, with talks continuing for days and no real progress yet to be made, the United faithful have been left to sweat on the Netherlands international’s final decision, and these latest reports suggest the playmaker may have turned down the chance to move to the Premier League.
Manchester United could be plunged almost £1bn into debt by their plans to redevelop Old Trafford.
In another development, Arsenal and Manchester United have been told Lisandro Martinez will cost them £42m after meeting with representatives of the Ajax defender in London.
Chelsea has been told unequivocally that England midfielder Declan Rice will not be leaving West Ham this summer.
Sevilla has told Chelsea they have until July 5 to close any deal to sign long-term defensive target Jules Kounde or forget about bringing him to Stamford Bridge.
Tottenham has stepped up their efforts to sign Everton striker Richarlison but the Goodison Park club reportedly wants much more than the £50m previously suggested.
Cristiano Ronaldo shows six-pack body
Arsenal will make a new offer for Leeds forward Raphinha after their initial £30m proposal was rejected, but are unlikely to go as high as the Elland Road side’s £65m valuations.
West Brom are leading the chase for Wales striker Tom Lawrence who will be available for free at the end of the month when his Derby County contract expires.
Middlesbrough are refusing to lower their asking price of £15m plus add-ons for Djed Spence and expects the Tottenham target to return for pre-season training in a fortnight.
Bournemouth are planning to make a £1m offer for Blackpool winger Josh Bowler despite having a January bid of around £3m rejected by the Championship club.
Conor Hourihane has been left in limbo after Wayne Rooney’s shock departure from Derby County, where he had been expected to sign a three-year deal to sign on a free transfer.
Sheffield United have made a £3m move for Malmo central defender Anel Ahemdhodzic but will face competition for his signature from Blackburn Rovers.
Meanwhile, Howard Webb is set to take over from Mike Riley as the Premier League’s chief refereeing officer and could be in the role by the end of the year as he remains under contract with MLS.
Chelsea’s £4.25bn sale to a consortium led by American investor Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital has been completed.
The club was put up for sale in March before previous owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned over his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea had been operating under a special government licence which would have expired on 31 May.
Boehly said that he was “honoured” and “wanted to make fans proud”.
The consortium fought off 11 serious rivals to become the new owners, in a sale process that started on 2 March and comprised more than 250 enquiries.
“We are honoured to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club,” he said.
“We’re all in – 100% – every minute of every match. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud.
“Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the club for the long term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success.
“I personally want to thank ministers and officials in the British government, and the Premier League, for all their work in making this happen.”
The Premier League has approved the £4.25bn takeover of Chelsea by a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly.
The league says the consortium has passed its owner’s and directors’ test.
The Premier League club was put up for sale before owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned over his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The purchase remains subject to the Government issuing the required sale licence.
The final stages of the transaction will then need to be completed.
The government does not want Abramovich to make any proceeds from the sale but sources are optimistic about a deal being finalised on Tuesday night.
“We now believe everyone will be ready to issue the necessary licences” said one insider to BBC Sport.
“The last remaining hurdle boils down to a number of final technical details that are being discussed with the club.”
Several parties expressed an interest but Chelsea agreed to sell to the Boehly-led consortium earlier in May.
The consortium is led by Boehly but Clearlake Capital, a Californian private equity firm, would own a majority of the shares in Chelsea. Other investors include US billionaire Mark Walter, also a co-owner of the LA Dodgers, and Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss.
Chelsea have been allowed to continue operating under a special government licence which expires on 31 May.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed he’s met new owner Todd Boehly for the first time.
Tuchel has revealed the nature of their brief discussion and stated his belief that a strong ambition for continued success will be maintained.
Boehly met with the German during a visit to the Cobham training ground last week.
“We had lunch together but it was in a room with everybody like players and staff,” Tuchel explained. “It was friendly and open, a very informal meeting over lunch for half an hour or 40 minutes.
“We didn’t go into details. It was not the moment, only to get a feeling and say hello. We talked more about baseball but when the moment is right, we will share our opinions in more detail in the next weeks.
“He paid some money so I don’t think he’s keen to drop the ambition. That would be a big surprise. I am sure that he is ambitious to build a competitive Chelsea for the highest level.”
The German insisted he was not concerned about failing to win the FA Cup with Boehly watching on.
“We try to impress with what we do and we do that with full commitment and passion,” he added. “We played to the very limit with one of the best teams in the world at this moment and we did it now five times in a row against them.
“I was pretty impressed on the sideline from both teams and the way we played with the commitment and the quality to play a final but I didn’t think about impressing somebody else.
“We wanted to impress ourselves and take what we thought we deserved given the circumstances in which we arrived. We were ready to take it but we didn’t unfortunately.”
Wolves captain Conor Coady headed a dramatic 97th-minute equaliser to deny Chelsea victory on the day the sale of the club was agreed.
With Todd Boehly – the man leading the consortium’s purchase – watching on at Stamford Bridge, Romelu Lukaku looked to have secured victory for the Blues with two goals in three second-half minutes.
But Wolves substitute Francisco Trincao pulled one back with a spectacular effort 11 minutes from time and Coady headed in to level seven minutes into added time.
The Blues’ future is now seemingly resolved and despite their late collapse the point edges them closer to a Champions League spot – they remain third with three games to play, six points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham, who visit Liverpool later.
Wolves’ late comeback means they ended a run of three successive Premier League defeats and stay eighth.
Here below is a look at the state of play at Stamford Bridge.
How was the deal agreed?
Boehly and his consortium partners have battled past a host of suitors to strike a deal to buy Chelsea for the highest price ever paid for a sports club.
Former British Airways chairman Martin Broughton and Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca had joined Boehly in the final three bidding to buy the Blues.
Boehly and his partners brokered a deal with New York merchant bank the Raine Group, handling the sale on Chelsea’s behalf.
Chelsea eventually announced the agreement in the early hours of Saturday.
So what happens now?
Boehly and his partners must pass the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ tests, before the British government will then sign off the sale by granting a new licence for the deal to be completed.
The 55-year-old was then sanctioned by the British government on March 10, with Downing Street claiming to have proven his links to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.
Abramovich’s ownership was left untenable, with the billionaire selling Chelsea after 19 years at the Stamford Bridge helm.
Are there any remaining concerns around the sale?
Abramovich cannot profit from the sale under the terms of his sanctions, but the Chelsea owner has long since pledged to donate all proceeds to a charitable foundation to aid victims of the war in Ukraine.
The government must agree to Abramovich’s plans to set up an independently-run charitable foundation to handle the distribution of those funds.
Abramovich wants to write off his 1.5 billion pounds loan to Chelsea, but the sanctions currently block such a move.
Chelsea and the government expect to find a resolution, with the Boehly sale agreement paving the way for the deal to be completed.
Who else is involved in the winning consortium?
Clearlake Capital will take the majority shareholding, with co-founder Behdad Eghbali taking the lead on all things Chelsea from the California-based investment firm.
Boehly’s LA Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter adds yet more sports administration expertise, while Swiss magnate Hansjorg Wyss is also involved.
What if the deal were to hit an unlikely snag?
Chelsea and the Raine Group could turn to one of the previous bidders should any problems arise with Boehly’s offer.
Though this now seems highly unlikely, Broughton’s bid would be expected to be progressed first should Boehly hit any trouble.
Ineos chief Jim Ratcliffe appears further removed from the picture.
Britain’s richest man tabled a last-ditch offer for the Blues last week, but did so outside of the official sale process.
Raine rejected the bid out of hand, but in spite of that the 69-year-old had refused to admit defeat on his candidacy.
Chelsea FC has said Boehly’s group of investors, led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner, Todd Boehly, would acquire the London club after agreeing to terms in a deal worth £4.25 billion ($5.2 billion).
“The sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals,” the football club said in a statement late Friday.
“More details will be provided at that time,” it added.
Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich put the Premier League club on the market in March, just days before he was sanctioned by the British government following the invasion of Ukraine.
After a lengthy bidding process involving several groups, Boehly and his fellow investors were picked by Raine Group, the New York bank overseeing the Blues’ sale.
Boehly’s group of investors includes fellow Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter, Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss and US investment firm Clearlake Capital.
“Chelsea Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the Club,” the Chelsea statement said.
“Of the total investment being made, £2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 percent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich,” it said.
“UK government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.”
In addition, the new owners would commit £1.75 billion in further investment for the benefit of the club, Chelsea said.
Abramovich cannot profit from Chelsea’s sale, but had already vowed to write off the club’s £1.5 billion debt and that all proceeds from the sale would go to victims of the war in Ukraine.
There had been fears over the future of the club if a sale was not finalized before the license runs out on May 31.
Under the terms of the license, Chelsea was unable to offer new contracts to existing players or sign players from other clubs.
The sale of the European champions brings the curtain down on 19 years of nearly unbroken success under the 55-year-old Abramovich, who has overseen five Premier League titles and two Champions League triumphs.
After initially embarking on a long winning run following Abramovich’s decision to sell the club, Chelsea have struggled to find their best form recently.
They suffered a painful Champions League quarter-final defeat at Real Madrid after nearly pulling off an epic comeback from a 3-1 first-leg deficit.
