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Didier Drogba accuses Chelsea of ‘lacking class’ under new owner Todd Boehly.
Chelsea former football player Didier Drogba has accused his former club of ‘lacking class’ under new owner Todd Boehly.
Chelsea was acquired from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich by a group headed by American investor Boehly and private equity company Clearlake Capital earlier this year.
Boehly was taking his first move into top football by purchasing Premier League club Chelsea. Boehly is a part-owner of the NBA team Los Angeles Lakers and the seven-time baseball champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Following spending more than £250 million on new additions throughout the summer, the 48-year-old has had a busy start to his time at Stamford Bridge, dismissing manager Thomas Tuchel after just seven games of the 2022–23 season.
Boehly has drawn criticism for making the suggestion that the Premier League hold a North vs. South All-Star game and for allegedly firing several Chelsea backroom staffers, including their chief physio and head of medical.
Drogba, one of many iconic Chelsea players who got along well with former Blues owner Roman Abramovich, thinks the club at Stamford Bridge is ‘lacking quality’ now that the Russian has been replaced.
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Drogba, who won four league titles and the Champions League at Chelsea, has pinpointed his opinion on the blues while speaking in Canal+, he said:
‘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.’
Earlier this week, Drogba’s former Chelsea team-mate Michael Ballack criticised Boehly for sacking Tuchel, calling it a ‘incomprehensible’ decision.
After taking over as manager of Chelsea in January 2021 in place of Frank Lampard, Tuchel guided the team to three victories. However, he was fired after a lacklustre start to the season, and Graham Potter was soon selected as his replacement.
‘I was surprised by the sacking,’ Ballack told SportBILD. ‘For me it was incomprehensible when a coach is dismissed so quickly. Especially because Thomas Tuchel had such a great success like winning the Champions League.
‘You can see that a new owner brings a new philosophy with a new understanding of ideas. Everyone has their own people they want to rely on, so they made the hard cut with the trainer. We have to see if it works in the long term. I believe that you have to approach such a successful and big club carefully. Chelsea doesn’t need any upheaval! Todd Boehly is doing it differently now with his elbow mentality.’