Four Talking Points From Chelsea Owner’s Surprise Interview Before Fan Protest

Saturday will see a significant number of Chelsea and Strasbourg fans protest against the current ownership group, which is led by Clearlake Capital’s Behdad Eghbali.

Rarely one for the spotlight, Eghbali took to the stage at CAA’s World Congress of Sports conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, offering his most in-depth comments yet about BlueCo’s divisive vision for the club.

“For the fans, we care,” Eghbali stressed. “We want the club to be successful. We’re focused on delivering that on-pitch performance.”

From the club’s recruitment model, to the sacking of manager Enzo Maresca and arrival of Liam Rosenior, Eghbali offered up plenty of interesting details about the vision for Chelsea.

‘Tweak the Plan’

Central to the frustrations directed at Eghbali and BlueCo has been transfers, which have focused heavily on young, high potential players at the expense of experienced seniors.

Not only are these players often most expensive, but they usually lack the know-how needed when the pressure ramps up. Marc Cucurella, Chelsea’s third-oldest player at just 27 and signed before the recruitment model changed, supported fans with public criticism of the model.

“There’s a full reflection on what we can do better, what we can improve on,” Eghbali acknowledged.

“There is a plan. We reflect on the plan. We try to improve the plan and tweak the plan if it’s not working. The message is we’re committed.

“I think we’ve done a few things right, a lot of things right. We’ve got to be better on a few things, to add more ready-made players at this part of the project, to take [it] to the next level, to be consistent over time.

“We recognize we need balance. We have world champions, we have Champions League winners, we have elite, elite young players. Experience has developed now. The team has been together for two or three years. The objective is to keep your best players, and we’ve done that, and there’s no intention to rebuild every three or four years. You tweak a model, you improve, you learn from mistakes.”

Maresca’s Exit ‘Against Policy’

While fan unrest had been growing in 2025, it was the departure of former boss Enzo Maresca in January that really set things off in the stands. Eghbali’s name is regularly sung in expletive-laden choruses which are often followed by vocal support for former owner Roman Abramovich.

Among the reasons for Maresca’s exit was a breakdown in his relationship with those above him—Eghbali and the rest of the hierarchy.

Cucurella admitted he did not appreciate the change of manager midway through a season, while disappointment towards the decision was among the main talking points of Enzo Fernández’s tirade during the international break.

“Our policy has been no in-season changes,” Eghbali confessed. “You certainly review and hold not only the manager, but the management team, the sporting team, accountable, but typically in the summers, not in season.

“It’s not a change we wanted to make. It’s a change that had a bit of a negative impact in the season, when you’re changing systems and personnel, and it’s one we’ve got to fight our way out of.

“We still have six matches in the Premier League, and an FA Cup semifinal coming up. So hopefully the story of this season hasn’t been written yet, and you’ve got a lot to fight for. In my perspective, when you get punched in the face, you’ve got to fight back, you’ve got to stand up and fight. And it’s going to hopefully show a lot about the character of this squad.

“I think the perspective is stability, and frankly, getting that stability on the manager side is one of the things we haven’t done right yet, and it’s something we’re striving to improve on.”

‘I Think We’re Behind Liam’

Liam Rosenior is under immense pressure. | Jorge Horsted/News Images/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The decision to replace Maresca with Rosenior has divided fans. The former Strasbourg boss was clearly familiar with the BlueCo model when he arrived but his limited experience at the highest level has left Rosenior with work to do to win over the entirety of the fanbase.

After a hot start, Rosenior is facing massive pressure. A run of five defeats in six games, across which Chelsea have conceded 15 goals, has raised questions about his long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

Eghbali offered his support to Rosenior but his choice of words left a little to be desired.

“On Liam, we had the opportunity to work with him daily for 18-plus months, so we knew what we were getting,” Eghbali continued. “We think he has every attribute to be successful here.

“He got off to a great start. We’ve had a tough past five, six matches, but I think we’re behind Liam. Of course, it’s a results business, but we think he can be successful long term.”

Enzo Fernández Escapes Criticism

Among the big questions facing Eghbali and Chelsea this summer is what the future holds for midfielder Fernández, whose continuation at the club was plunged into doubt following a series of pro-Real Madrid interviews during the recent international break.

Eghbali had nothing specific to say about Fernández’s comments but did gleefully accept the chance to name the Argentina international as a key part of Chelsea’s core going forwards.

“Our goal is to have elite, elite players on the pitch, elite characters off the pitch that our fans can bond with, that will be at the club, that will be club legends for the next 10 or 15 years and beyond,” he explained.

“I think, generally, we’ve been fortunate, not in getting everything right, but we do have a core [of] good players, global players. Cole Palmer, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Levi Colwill, Estêvão Willian, Reece James ...

“The view is now that we’re here with a great core base, to add some of that experience, to take the team to the next level and have consistency. That fact is not lost on us, and we’re at a point where we can take that next step, hopefully in the next year and beyond.”

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