Premier League football doesn’t get much bigger than this. It gets a bit bigger than this. Manchester City’s greatest occasions still arrive against their local rivals Manchester United and Liverpool while Chelsea will always rank their London rivalries just a shade above the rest. But still, City vs Chelsea is well up there in terms of box office appeal. The two teams even contested the Champions League final in 2021.
Chelsea lifted ‘Ol’ Big Ears’ on that occasion, but their victory was an upset. Indeed, the west London club do feel further back in their development than City at this moment in time. While Pep Guardiola’s side have famously won four of the last five league titles, Chelsea are without success in the top flight since 2017, when they won it under current Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte.
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When Roman Abramovich relinquished control and sold Chelsea last year to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, many fans feared the worst. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made his position untenable, Chelsea supporters could be forgiven for wondering what the future held for their club.
After an uncertain period, Boehly and Clearlake completed a reported $5.4 billion takeover of Chelsea. The American slotted into a hybrid role, operating as both co-owner and a temporary Director of Football, while a staffing reshuffle took place. The result was something akin to what City fans encountered a decade before, as their club began to recklessly spend their recently-acquired riches.
Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were just some of the big names through the door at Stamford Bridge. Denis Zakaria came in on loan, a signing so unnecessary that fans have barely glimpsed him since he joined. Carney Chukwuemeka cost £20 million from Aston Villa despite making just 13 Premier League appearances prior to joining. There seemed to be no unifying vision or plan to Boehly’s transfer activity.
There was even talk of Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United’s 37-year-old tactical and disciplinary albatross, joining Chelsea. The fact that Boehly and then-manager Thomas Tuchel didn’t see eye-to-eye on this potential deal apparently caused the chasm that would eventually separate them. The fact the manager’s proven philosophy, one which had won the club European football’s ultimate prize, was being compromised in the pursuit of star names was a worrying sign.
It is a sign City fans will recognise. Before they were a modern superclub with an iconic manager and a shelf full of titles, they were the Premier League’s nouveau riche. Before the “Aguerooooo” moment, before Mancini and Pellegrini and Guardiola, before the 6-1, before even that first trophy post-takeover in the 2011 FA Cup, they were the expensive new plaything of the Abu Dhabi royal family.
These first flushes with fortune saw all manner of players join. Brazilian superstar Robinho thought he’d joined Manchester United. Shay Given, Craig Bellamy, Nigel De Jong and Wayne Bridge were part of the footballing variety bag that followed. The first full summer under the new owners brought future greats like Carlos Tevez and Joleon Lescott alongside short-lived signings like Emmanuel Adebayor and Sylvinho.
City finished 10th and 5th in their first two seasons post-takeover. They eventually realised that the scattergun approach to transfers wasn’t working. They invested heavily in quality players that fit manager Roberto Mancini’s playing style in year three. Mario Balotelli, James Milner, Yaya Toure and David Silva won the FA Cup that year. 12 months later, they would be celebrating a Premier League title triumph.
Boehly and Chelsea can learn a lot from City. Newcastle United are another good example. Despite bottomless wells of cash, the Magpies and the Cityzens now buy according to a plan. Boehly has been blinded by glamour thus far. From now on, he must buy the players manager Graham Potter wants, rather than the A-listers he wants to be associated with.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
