Chelsea legend Didier Drogba blames Todd Boehly for Blues demise: ‘It’s no longer the same club’
Didier Drogba launched a brutal attack on Chelsea owner Todd Boehly after his former club crashed out of the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.
The American billionaire once again gave his thoughts to the players in the Blues changing room after the defeat, just as he did after their 2-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday.
Frank Lampard has become the first Chelsea manager in their entire history to lose his first four games, but Drogba thinks his former teammate isn’t to blame.
Speaking after the defeat to Madrid, he said: “I knew this club had a certain class during the Abramovich era, but today I find it lacking.
“It’s very hard for me to see how they got rid of certain people. They should go back to the principles and values they had.
“I don’t recognise my club. It’s no longer the same club, There is a new owner and a new vision.
“Of course, we try to compare it with what happened during the (Roman) Abramovich era where a lot of players were brought in, but the decisions were very intelligent”
Drogba rips into Boehly recruitment
Indeed, despite Chelsea spending record sums on new players this season, bringing in the likes of Enzo Fernandez (£106.8m) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (£88.5m)… they currently sit in 11th place in the table.
With the Blues on track for their worst season since 1994, Drogba ripped into the aimless he recruitment under Boehly this season.
“When I was at Chelsea, we were bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Hernan Crespo, Micheal Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was done to win titles,” Drogba added.
‘They are players with a certain experience. The strategy is now different; we bet on young players. But a dressing room of over 30 players is difficult [to manage] for a manager.”
“They lack charismatic leaders. You need players that take on the game, that assume their responsibilities. You need a player that brings a bit of madness to the stadium.”
Despite getting knocked out of the Champions League, Lampard has insisted that Chelsea will recover from their latest set-back, despite the club having little to play for in the remainder of the season.
“The motivation has be playing for Chelsea, we have to be competitive in everything we do every day,” Lampard said.
“People make a lot of this season because we have had so much success – but the reality is we will be back. It will take work and a bit of process.”
