Mourinho has finally gotten ownership of his name back from the club - but they still hold one part of him that he'll have to wait a little while longer for
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By KIERAN GILL
Published: 12:00 EDT, 2 April 2025 | Updated: 12:00 EDT, 2 April 2025
For the last 20 years, strange as it sounds, Jose Mourinho has not owned his own name.
It has been the property of Chelsea Football Club Limited, trademarked with the UK IPO since April 4, 2005 when he was closing in on his first Premier League title.
Chelsea were able to use it to flog whatever they fancied in their megastore, from Mourinho mugs to Mourinho dolls to Mourinho posters to Mourinho mobile phone covers. The Ts and Cs of the original trademark even covered lingerie, in case the club were so inclined.
Back in 2016 when the Portuguese was in talks to become the next manager of Manchester United, it was even suggested United could pay Chelsea a six-figure sum for a licence in order to use his name on their own merch.
Remarkably, the licence would have prevented Mourinho himself from producing merchandise carrying his own name. So Chelsea could have sued their former boss if he had done so without their permission — though the optics would have been awful for the club.
Thankfully for Mourinho, there will be no such issues moving forward, because Confidential has learned that Chelsea’s ownership of his name will effectively cease on Friday, the 20-year anniversary of that trademark and also its renewal date.
For the last 20 years, strange as it sounds, Jose Mourinho has not owned his own name
Back in 2016 when the Portuguese was in talks to become the next manager of Manchester United, it was even suggested United could pay Chelsea a six-figure sum for a licence
So there you go, Jose. Your name is yours again, for you to do with as you please
Chelsea were emailed a six-month reminder on October 4, 2024 that their licence was expiring. They have not renewed in the time since, and after speaking to club insiders this week, I’m told they are not intending on doing so.
No need. Chelsea are a club operating under a new regime and you could understand why there is no appetite to glance back when they are looking forward, hopeful that the future can be equally as bright under their BlueCo ownership.
So there you go, Jose. Your name is yours again, for you to do with as you please. You will have to wait a little longer to get back your signature, mind. That scribble is trademarked by Chelsea until November 2025. But hey, a start is a start.
Spurs debutant on verge of comeback after ACL horror
There are a total of 10 Chelsea players who made their Premier League debuts versus Tottenham. I’ll list them below for those curious but – spoiler alert – Jimi Tauriainen was the 10th.
Underlining his potential, he was 20 when he appeared against Spurs in May 2024, but it was then during the academy's pre-season tour in July that the Finland youth sustained an ACL injury in a friendly with League Two side Mansfield Town. Now 21, he has not played since as a result.
However, Confidential can happily report his long road to recovery is nearly over.
He is back on the grass at Cobham, training with team-mates, and is looking for minutes in the coming weeks with the Under 21s, with his big ambition being a return to the first-team fold in the future.
We can also reveal that Tauriainen is in good hands as he has signed with Ned Ozkasim and the Louie Anthony Sports Agency, who also represent Alfie Gilchrist, Harvey Vale and Teddy Sharman-Lowe, the goalkeeper on loan from Chelsea with Doncaster and who debuted for England’s Under 21s during the international break.
Tauriainen (far left of second row) made his debut late off the bench against Tottenham last May
George Weah is one of 10 Chelsea debutants against Tottenham - and immediately endeared himself to Blues fans by scoring the winner against them at White Hart Lane in January 2000
Nicolas Anelka also made his Chelsea debut against Tottenham - and like Weah he also donned a fetching pair of gloves for the occasion
The 10 Chelsea debutants versus Tottenham:
Craig Burley, December 1992
George Weah, January 2000
Claude Makelele, September 2003
Jiri Jarosik, January 2005
Nicolas Anelka, January 2008
Franco Di Santo, August 2008
Fabio Borini, September 2009
Tiemoue Bakayoko, August 2017
Josh Acheampong, May 2024
Jimi Tauriainen, May 2024
Chelsea not happy with Warsaw allocation
Chelsea are privately pushing Uefa to help them receive an increased allocation for their Conference League away clash with Legia Warsaw next week, after they were handed only 742 tickets for the match.
The small number is due to safety and security reasons. Last season, Legia Warsaw fans were handed a five-game ban from away matches in Europe after 46 men were charged following clashes with police outside their Conference League tie at Aston Villa.
Two were charged with assaulting police officers and another with possessing a knife, with fences and a lighting pole broken even though away fans were already banned from Villa Park that night.
The good news is given the game is so soon – a week tomorrow – Chelsea will not be penalising those supporters unable to purchase a ticket via their Uefa away scheme.
Legia Warsaw fans kicked off at Villa Park last season and earned a five-match away ban
No Legia fans were allowed in but they launched missiles into the ground from outside
Forty-six Legia fans were charged with public order offences and then came a huge ban
What really happened in defeat by academy team
Last Wednesday, while the bulk of Chelsea’s senior squad were still coming back from international duty in their dribs and drabs, a drill was being prepared for those present at their Cobham base.
It was a pretend match. Nothing too serious, 50 minutes overall, 25 a half, and those involved were told to listen for the shouts from Enzo Maresca because it would be a very stop-start affair.
Chelsea’s head coach likes to pause play during such in-house exercises in order to issue individual instructions. Understandable therefore that a full 90 is not considered feasible.
Enzo Maresca likes to pause play during in-house exercises to issue individual instructions
Academy hotshot Donnell McNeilly scored twice in the 50-minute match between Chelsea's academy and the depleted first team
Maresca did not have enough numbers to make up two teams given how many had been away representing their countries – from Enzo Fernandez to Moises Caicedo – and so the best and brightest available from the academy were called up to form the opposing side.
I’m told that included Yaya Dieme, the 17-year-old Senegalese winger who Confidential reported last week is set to become the newest 2007-born talent to sign with BlueCo from the Diambars football academy set up by Patrick Vieira.
Another youngster involved was Donnell McNeilly, the 19-year-old English striker who we revealed two weeks ago has been offered a contract by Chelsea but has not signed it amid no proof of a pathway for himself despite his reliable goalscoring record.
Long story short, the academy side won 3-0, McNeilly scored twice, and Maresca responded by scrapping what was supposed to be a scheduled day off for his first-teamers the next morning.
Felix destined for Chelsea reunion
Given the audio is not the greatest, it is tough to say for sure what Kyle Walker was telling Joao Felix as they were leaving the tunnel during AC Milan’s trip to Napoli on Sunday.
But it certainly sounded like: ‘Joao, just pass the ball, we are not Messi, no one here is Messi, just pass the ball.’
Sources in Italy say Milan will not be purchasing Felix permanently this summer when his loan expires, and Chelsea are aware of those rumours.
However, it is believed confirmation of that decision has not yet been communicated directly to the Premier League club.
It certainly sounded like Kyle Walker was saying to AC Milan team-mate Joao Felix: ‘Joao, just pass the ball, we are not Messi, no one here is Messi, just pass the ball.’
Felix’s contract with Milan runs until June 30, 2025 but Chelsea inserted a clause which means they could bring him back for the start of this summer’s Club World Cup in the United States
Felix’s contract with Milan runs until June 30, 2025 but Chelsea inserted a clause which means they could bring him back for the start of this summer’s Club World Cup in the United States. There is no indication yet whether that will or will not happen.
The Italian media are certainly not taken with him. This week alone, Corriere dello Sport have described him as ‘a failure’, La Repubblica as ‘a ghost’ and Eurosport as ‘ignored by team-mates’.
Gold for Silva as Cobham claim yet another trophy
Chelsea’s Under 14s this week won the Albert Phelan Cup South, beating Millwall 4-2 to secure an accolade considered prestigious for their age group.
Among the young players who picked up a winners’ medal for their tournament victory was Iago Silva, the 13-year-old son of Thiago Silva who turns 14 this week.
Premier League silence on Boehly and Vivid Seats
It was May 24, 2022 when the Premier League announced Todd Boehly and Co had passed their owners’ and directors’ test, saying they had ‘undertaken the necessary due diligence’.
Confidential asked the Premier League if Boehly’s association with Vivid Seats – the controversial ticket sale website which has angered fans so much that the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust have called for an investigation – was known at the time. It is name-checked on the Premier League’s list of ‘unauthorised ticketing websites’, after all.
Whether it would have constituted a worthy red flag in such a seismic takeover, I do not know.
What I do know is the Premier League replied to our query without answering our question, and that they have not yet commented on this story.
It was May 24, 2022 when the Premier League announced Todd Boehly and Co had passed their owners’ and directors’ test, saying they had ‘undertaken the necessary due diligence’
Who are we playing?
There are only 75 days until Chelsea begin their Club World Cup campaign in the United States, though who they will be facing on June 16 in Atlanta, they don’t have the foggiest.
Fifa are exploring a one-off game between Club America and Los Angeles FC to decide who deserves the final slot after Club Leon were kicked out of the tournament on multi-ownership grounds, although the Mexican side are appealing that decision.
The other teams in Group D are Flamengo of Brazil and Esperance de Tunis, the Tunisian side who are four-time winners of the African Champions League. The Blues will face both of them at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Whatever happens, with the clock ticking down to the Club World Cup, Chelsea’s analysts will not be left with much time to do their homework on their opening opposition.
Sam Kerr was signing autographs as hundreds of Matildas fans came down to see the national team’s training session at Leichardt Oval, near Sydney, on Tuesday afternoon
While there is a chance the striker will participate in some training sessions during her time on camp, Football Australia says that Kerr has not yet been cleared for competitive football
No return yet for Kerr
Chelsea fans will have been delighted to see Sam Kerr making the rounds on social media this week, signing autographs as hundreds of Matildas fans came down to see the national team’s training session at Leichardt Oval, near Sydney, on Tuesday afternoon.
But the 31-year-old Australian skipper, who had her captaincy reinstated on Monday following her being found not guilty of racially aggravated assault in February, is not expected to play in either of their upcoming friendlies against South Korea due to her ongoing recovery from an ACL injury.
While there is a chance the striker will participate in some training sessions during her time on camp, Football Australia says that Kerr has not yet been cleared for competitive football, and that the national team and Chelsea are working to provide ‘the best environment for Kerr’s recovery and re-integration’.
Kerr may yet make an appearance before the end of the season, although Blues boss Sonia Bompastor has avoided providing a specific timeline, saying in March that ‘maybe after the international break we'll have a better idea when she will come back with us’.
Contributor: TARA ANSON-WALSH
Enzo MarescaEuropa Conference League