Former Chelsea manager José Mourinho derided the “crazy investment” splurged by the club’s BlueCo ownership and credited head coach Enzo Maresca for the turnaround in recent years, even if his praise was layered with back-handed compliments.
The revered Portuguese boss won three Premier League titles across two spells at Stamford Bridge and will be heading back to west London with Benfica for a Champions League first-round tie on Tuesday evening.
The controversial Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was the club’s owner throughout Mourinho’s two tenures. The renowned oligarch, who allegedly has ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin—which he strongly denies—was forced to sell Chelsea in 2022 as a result of sanctions from the U.K. government following the invasion of Ukraine.
BlueCo, the investment vehicle fronted by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, swooped in to buy Chelsea for £4.25 billion ($5.7 billion). Over the subsequent three years, the arch-disruptors have spent another £1.5 billion on players—almost twice as much as the world’s next biggest spenders Manchester United—without finishing higher than fourth in the Premier League.
José Mourinho’s Record Against Chelsea
“Chelsea. Abramovich’s Chelsea, my Chelsea, the Chelsea we built and lasted for many years was a winning club,” Mourinho mused while in discussion with assembled media this weekend. “It was winning everything with me and then with [Carlo] Ancelotti, with [Antonio] Conte and with [Thomas] Tuchel. Chelsea was a winning machine. Every season, Chelsea was winning.
“Then there was a big change with crazy investment and a period of a few years where it looked like they lost direction—with too many players, too many millions, accumulation of players and a team without a clear philosophy. For a couple of years, it was hard. For one that loves the club, it was hard.”
After slumping to 12th in BlueCo’s first season and then sixth under Mauricio Pochettino, Maresca led Chelsea back into the Champions League last term. The Italian coach also lifted the Conference League and Club World Cup, a pair of trophies questioned by some but not Mourinho.
“Maresca arrived and step by step, the puzzle was made,” the self-style Special One noted.
“Even the Conference League is a fantastic competition for a team like that to win. It gives you that first cup and the philosophy and the culture of the club for winning. If you cannot win the Premier League you win something, so they won the Conference League. Then they go to the States and come back with the big badge on the chest so now they have a good, good team.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Crazy’—Jose Mourinho Takes Aim at Chelsea Owners Ahead of Stamford Bridge Return.
