Mamadou Sarr, Jesse Derry, Wesley Fofana, Enzo Fernandez, Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Gabriel Slonina and Dario Essugo of Chelsea celebrate winning the mini tournament during a training session
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea loanee Mamadou Sarr has opened up about his difficult spell at Stamford Bridge towards the end of last season. The Blues signed Sarr from Strasbourg in 2025, but he did not play for the West London club until January this year, and things went horribly wrong.
The centre-back spent the first half of the 2025/26 campaign back on loan at Strasbourg under Liam Rosenior. He continued to excel in Ligue 1, often wearing the captain’s armband, and broke into the Senegal national team after switching allegiance from France.
Then, when Rosenior was appointed Chelsea manager in January, the Blues recalled Sarr midway through his season-long loan at Strasbourg. The youngster never settled at Stamford Bridge, and he has every right to complain about how he was mismanaged.
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Mamadou Sarr reveals how Chelsea left him in the dark
Mamadou Sarr was on the bench for Chelsea’s first two Premier League games after his arrival before making his debut in a 4-0 FA Cup win against Hull City on February 13. He also started the Blues’ round-of-16 tie against Wrexham a few weeks later.
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However, Sarr started just one of Chelsea’s 14 league games during his time at the club – a 2-1 away defeat to Arsenal. He also made one Champions League appearance but endured a difficult evening after making a costly error in the sixth minute. He gave the ball away to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who put Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 up on the night and 6-2 ahead on aggregate.
Sarr was heavily criticised for his mistake and barely featured for the Blues over the following months. After Rosenior was sacked and replaced by interim boss Calum McFarlane, the Senegalese defender was often left out of the matchday squad altogether.
Having been a key player at Strasbourg and clearly enjoying his football, Sarr suddenly found himself surplus to requirements at Chelsea. The decision to recall him not only damaged his confidence and stunted his development but may also have cost him a place in Senegal’s starting XI at the World Cup this summer.
Sarr has every right to feel mistreated by Chelsea, who were supposed to help him develop into the best player possible. Thankfully, the 21-year-old is playing well on loan at Real Sociedad this season, but he remains unhappy with his spell at Stamford Bridge and has now made his feelings public.
“It was really very difficult – a rollercoaster,” Sarr told L’Equipe. “I was coming back from the AFCON and I was on a cloud. I started to play, had some good matches, [but] the one against PSG and that error came quickly. [Then] no news. No sign of life. The first week was horrible regarding the criticism. And Rosenior, who brought me, was quickly ejected.
“No longer doing your job, staying on the bench and watching your teammates play was very hard to experience, especially without any explanation. And then, at the World Cup, I thought that I’d be playing, but without rhythm, I didn’t.”