Todd Boehly delivered a pre-Real Madrid pep talk to Chelsea’s players in the Stamford Bridge dressing room after their latest demoralising defeat by Brighton on Saturday, in which he labelled the club’s plight as “embarrassing”.
Co-owners Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Hansjorg Wyss entered the home dressing room following Chelsea’s third straight loss.
After interim head coach Frank Lampard had told the players his thoughts, Boehly addressed the squad and is understood to have described the situation, in terms of results and Chelsea being in the bottom half of the Premier League table, as “embarrassing”.
Boehly is said to have left the players in no doubt that they have been falling short of expectations after he, Eghbali and Wyss had spent £600m in the transfer market to win.
He also tried to strike a positive note, reiterating that tonight’s Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie against Real is a chance to keep the season alive and end the embarrassment.
While Boehly’s pep talk may raise further questions over the scale of their involvement, the owners’ decision to enter the dressing room is also an acknowledgement of their responsibility in what has turned into a hugely challenging first season after buying the club from Roman Abramovich.
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga said: “Todd comes to the changing room in every game. He had different chats with us after different games. I am not going to say what he said. It is normal that he came.”
Asked if he is comfortable with Chelsea’s owners entering the dressing room and delivering pep talks to the players, Lampard said: “I am comfortable with that.
“There may have been some criticism of our old owner for not coming to games or not being around and that wasn’t always true.
“But when an owner is invested in their interest in the team and wants to help and improve, it’s their prerogative to have the input they want.
“I remember the moments as a player of owners first coming into the dressing room. It first happened at Chelsea, never anywhere else before and I remember being really happy that they were there. You could touch them, you could high-five them and listen to them and feel them. That’s not a bad thing in terms of the identity of the club and where you want to get to.
“There is no problem with it from my point of view. I had my things to say after the game. If the owner comes in and wants to be positive and speak to the players, then I think it is his part to do that. It shows passion and that’s the first thing that I like.”
Chelsea are two goals down to Real Madrid from the first leg, ahead of which Boehly boldly predicted Chelsea were going to win 3-0 against the reigning European champions.
Boehly now needs his prediction in Madrid to come true at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea to progress and stop his first season as co-owner from ending in disappointment in Europe, as well as domestically.
The American billionaire came under fire from supporters sitting above him at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and has faced criticism from pundits after he and co-controlling owner Eghbali sacked two coaches, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, inside 12 months.
“With regard to the ownership and fans, passion goes both ways,” Lampard said. “The fans show passion and I don’t think the owners or anybody who comes to Chelsea expect anything else.
“The fans have complete passion and want the club to do well, and we have been fortunate enough that the club has been successful over the last 20 years or so. That means you want more of it.”
Chelsea v Real Madrid, Live, RTÉ2/BT Sport 1, 8.0
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