Joe Cole, a former Chelsea star, has given the club a harsh review after their humiliating defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League. On Tuesday, the defending European champions beat Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, with goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bradley Barcola, and Senny Mayulu securing an 8-2 aggregate win.
After such a one-sided loss in both legs of the tie, Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior had a lot of questions to answer. The Blues haven’t won a home game in any competition since 31 January, and fans are growing increasingly upset with how the club is going.
After the game, Cole, who won three Premier League titles in seven seasons at Stamford Bridge, did not hold back in his criticism of the Clearlake Capital-led ownership group when he talked to TNT Sports.
“The culture that prevailed in this club has deteriorated over the last four years. It’s really sad.”
“The owners need to have a real re-think on what they’re doing with the club.”
Cole is upset because Chelsea have spent an incredible £1.5 billion on new players since the consortium took over in May 2022, all while going through several head coaches. Under the current owners, Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, interim boss Frank Lampard, Mauricio Pochettino, and Enzo Maresca have all left the club. Rosenior is now in charge.
The former England international also questioned Chelsea’s data-driven transfer model, which has been the team’s approach to player recruitment since Clearlake took over. Cole said that the idea of signing young players to seven-year contracts seems too rigid and doesn’t have the subtlety of creating a winning culture with older, more experienced players.
PSG Dominate Chelsea Across Both Legs to Advance to UCL Quarterfinals
The first leg in Paris was already bad for Chelsea, as PSG scored three goals in the last 20 minutes to turn a close game into a 5-2 demolition at the Parc des Princes. PSG made sure there was no doubt about the tie in the second leg. Kvaratskhelia scored in the sixth minute, and Barcola scored a beautiful goal in the fifteenth. Teenager Senny Mayulu finished the rout in the 62nd minute, showing that the French champions were much better in both games.
Chelsea are in fifth place in the Premier League right now, with 48 points from 29 games. The Blues need to quickly regroup now that their dreams of playing in Europe are over. They have a very important set of league games coming up if they want to stay in the top five this season.