Chelsea owner Todd Boehly addressed the squad in the aftermath of their defeat to Brighton on Saturday, in a bid to raise morale ahead of the Champions League this week.
But according to the Telegraph, one insider described the pep talk from the US owner – in which he described the Blues season as “embarrassing” – as backfiring, declaring, “the whole thing was weird”.
Things went from bad to worse for the misfiring west Londoners at the weekend, as they let a 1-0 lead slip and Frank Lampard lost a third match in a row. Boehly himself was blasted by Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge – so took it upon himself to speak directly with the players after the defeat.
Boehly reportedly waited for Lampard to finish speaking with his squad – many of whom have arrived in a near-£600 million splurge in the last 12 months – before addressing the players alongside his fellow board members, Behdad Eghbali and Hansjorg Wyss.
“It is understood that one senior player, signed for a large fee in the past 12 months, was singled out for heavy criticism,” the Guardian says. “That player, whose identity is not being disclosed, is believed to be disillusioned with the situation and cut a disgruntled figure in training before Chelsea attempt to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg against Madrid.”
Captain Kepa Arrizabalaga, however, stressed that the incident was in keeping with Boehly's behaviour.
“Todd comes to the changing room in every game,” the Spanish goalkeeper said. “He had different chats with us after different games. I am not going to say what he said. It is normal when he came.”
The Guardian adds that virtually every player in the Chelsea squad is up for sale this summer, following a disastrous season.
The Blues are 11th in the table.
More Chelsea stories
Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Julian Nagelsmann over the vacant managerial position. Luis Enrique was apparently "disappointed" that the Blues appointed Frank Lampard, as the interim manager lost his third fixture in a row.
Meanwhile, one video on social media has surfaced in which fans have discussed the Blues appearing to coach themselves.
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw
