"Manchester City was targeting him? Then I'll buy him too!" Todd Boehly, Chelsea's co-owner, recounted the behind-the-scenes story of his 'buy-it-and-ask-later' shopping spree early in the takeover.
Global sports outlet Goal.com reported on the interview with Todd Boehly, Chelsea's co-owner, on the 2nd (Korean time), revealing the chaos he experienced early in the takeover and the inside stories of the transfer market.
Chelsea fans are clutching the back of their necks at his confession that, while serving as interim Director General with no football knowledge, he poured billions of won solely based on rival clubs' interests. The absurd logic behind an unprecedented 'money spree' has come to light.
Boehly took charge of Chelsea's preseason immediately after the takeover without any particular experts. In the interview, Boehly coolly acknowledged that he led the transfer market while lacking football knowledge in that position.
Boehly recalled, "Looking back at the situation immediately after the takeover, it was really a mess. The existing staff had effectively all left the club," and "In the end, I, who didn't even know whether players were good or bad, had to serve as interim Director General during the summer transfer window."
The clearest example of Boehly's 'football-illiterate' behavior was the signing of Marc Cucurella. At the time, Manchester City strongly wanted Cucurella, who was with Brighton, but Brighton showed reluctance and halted negotiations over the large transfer fee they demanded.
Boehly's logic watching that was simple. He confessed, "In Cucurella's case, when I heard Manchester City was targeting him, I thought, 'Then I'll target him too.' I really decided on the signing with such a simple logic."
He said that, driven by the vague belief that any player marked by rival team Manchester City must be good, he paid Brighton's asking price in full and succeeded in hijacking the deal.
This 'buy-it-and-ask-later scouting' was not limited to Cucurella. Boehly spent hundreds of millions of pounds in his first year alone to overhaul the squad, but by collecting mainly 'assets coveted by others' without systematic tactical consideration, the team fell into a prolonged slump.
Local experts criticized Boehly's remarks as "a typical mistake of American-style capitalism that did not understand the ecosystem of European football." They pointed out that no matter how strong the financial power, signings that exclude the club's philosophy and the manager's vision can only be harmful.
Fortunately, Chelsea later appointed professional directors and moved away from Boehly's unilateral operating system. However, the transfer anecdote of "if a rival targets him, I'll buy him too" from the club owner's own mouth has become an awkward dark chapter for Chelsea fans.
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