The American Todd Boehly quickly made a name for himself in European football. The new co-owner of Chelsea is acting wildly. He invests a lot and has even more suggestions. His "visions" cost Thomas Tuchel his job and make Jürgen Klopp laugh.
Why did Thomas Tuchel have to leave top English club Chelsea? A question that not only concerns the former BVB and Mainz coach, but also one to which there has hardly been a reasonable answer so far. But now Todd Boehly, the Blues' new CEO and co-owner from the United States, has allowed himself to be carried away with an explanation. Above all, this shows the serious differences between the two sides.
Thomas Tuchel, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, surprisingly had to pack his bags last week after losing 1-0 in the premier class at Dinamo Zagreb. "I'm devastated that my time at Chelsea is over," said the 49-year-old just a few days ago in one of his rare statements on Twitter.
At a conference in the United States, Boehly explained the background to the dismissal that came to Tuchel exactly 100 days after the change of ownership from the Russian oligarch to the group of investors around the 48-year-old. The club had previously invested almost 300 million euros in the transfer market and signed a dream player in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang just a few days before the German was kicked out. It wasn't enough.
"Tuchel is obviously extremely talented and someone who has had great success at Chelsea," said the American. "Our vision for the club was to find a manager who really wanted to work with us."
With Tuchel, who was popular with the fans because of his successes, Boehly didn't see this possibility. Before the dismissal, there were said to have been several conflicts behind the scenes, which were repeatedly stirred up by possible transfers. There are said to have been opposing opinions about a possible commitment by former world footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Tuchel, who had also taken on this role in the absence of a sports director, had rejected the Portuguese, but not Boehly.
In the end, the American had the upper hand and now said: "When you take over a company, you have to make sure that you are aligned with the people who run the company." That was evidently not the case with Tuchel, who is being succeeded by former Brighton coach Graham Potter. The 49-year-old German stuck it out, at least here, with the former Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who, as is well known, considered visions to be in need of treatment. Potter, who had worked his way into the limelight through the Swedish league, fits more into the ideas of Todd Boehly, which ultimately cost the Germans their job.
Jürgen Klopp does not have to fear Boehly's visions directly. But the American wants to stir up the English league. Although he was a blank slate there before taking over Chelsea FC, he brings expertise from a number of US sports with him. The 48-year-old holds shares in the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team and wants to give the number one sport in Europe a new, more American look.
"I hope the Premier League can learn from American sports," Boehly said, pitching the idea of an all-star game between the league's north and south clubs. After all, he said, the MLB All-Star game brought in "$200 million this year."
Due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the resulting game cancellations, but also due to the chasing of appointments triggered by the 2022 Winter World Cup, the Premier League has to make appointments. They will no longer exist in this form until the end of the season. The European and national calendars show no mercy. Among other things, the game Chelsea against Liverpool on Sunday, which has to be canceled due to the upcoming state funeral and the police forces tied up as a result, is affected by the cancellations.
So it's no wonder that Klopp was not very enthusiastic about Boehly's idea. "He should report when he has found an appointment," said the 55-year-old when he was confronted with the plans after the 2-1 win over Ajax Amsterdam. Klopp added: "In US sports, the players have a four-month break, so they're certainly happy with a little sport during the breaks. Football is totally different. What can I say? Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters with him too and compete against a soccer team?" Todd Boehly's answer to this question is pending.
