Sunday Times: Chelsea have been put up for sale

[The Boogeyman]

Yeah players can consider moving to Barca or Real but if the club is serious about winning they will do everything to keep their best players. Liverpool have consistently sold their best players - Alonso, Torres, Suarez, Coutinho and they couldn't even get Can to sign a new contract.

And you really can't say judge this post Coutinho team to be far better until we actually see what the team wins at the end of the season. After Ronaldo we were still winning trophies and championships so that doesn't really hold up.

You can't really hail Liverpool owners as the ideal owners based on the season. And the point is that they ONLY invest after a big sale and have consistently failed to retain their best players. They've invested before and failed to succeed and they've invested now but we can't say they've been successful till the end of the season.

The point is that Liverpool owners would be ideal owners if they didn't always sell their best players - that's not ideal. Imagine how much better their team would have been if they had managed to keep a hold of Suarez, Sterling and Coutinho.

It's a bit ridiculous to act like can was a big loss when he wasnt even a guaranteed starter in an average midfield. They were able to sign Salah and firmino to big contracts, and did the same to coutinho before he forced his way out, so it's not a situation where they're unwilling to pay players what they're worth on the market.

Also, while I agree with you that liverpool hasn't accomplished nearly enough under fsg for them to be touted as really good owners, with the benefit of hindsight it's somewhat clear that they've been building towards this.

They took over and spent several years getting their finances in order and renovating Anfield. During that time, they obviously weren't spending or winning a lot, and lost guys like Torres and sterling as a result. Now that they've got a manager they trust, they're backing him and building a very nice squad.

 

[Silver]

How many players in the league the La Liga giants knocked on their doors and didn't end up leaving ? The only one I remember is De Gea and that was due to a freak accident, otherwise we were very willing to sell and get Navas instead of him. Only the fax machine thing prevented that. All other top players in the league which Barca or Madrid wanted to get, they end up getting him. It's inevitable imo. Best thing is to make as much use of the money you get from this. They didn't when they sold Suarez but did well when they sold Coutinho. We didn't when we sold Ronaldo either.

They are a better team now than when Coutinho was around. They have better defense, better midfield, great attack and good GK. They reached CL finap after he left and look like a candidate for the league this year for the first time since Suarez freak season.

I'm not the one who said they are the ideal owners. City are the best because they can splash the cash without fearing of tomorrow, but Liverpool's board is second currently imo. Last 2 seasons they changed their policy and are doing well on th market. They look like they had a plan for the team in general. The way they replaced Coutinho was great and a point in their favor not the opposite.

Arsenal's is the worst, us, Levy and Roman are average at best currently.

Yeah the fax machine prevented the De Gea transfer but he certainly wasn't our best player at that time. And we could have also sold him the next summer when Madrid were still trying. Aguero has been linked to Barca and a return to Atletico but he's stayed put. But this isn't just about La Liga. It's about Liverpool consistently selling their best players. Liverpool sold Sterling to City. Torres to Chelsea. Whereas we kept Ferdinand. We kept Rooney. And post fax machine we managed to keep De Gea at his best.

Reinvesting money from a big sale does not guarantee success. Liverpool bought Lallana, Can, Lovren, Firminho after Suarez left yet they won nothing. We might have not spent all our Ronaldo money but we still kept winning and that's because our team wasn't just about Ronaldo and we kept that core together.

They are a better team now than when Coutinho was around. They have better defense, better midfield, great attack and good GK. They reached CL finap after he left and look like a candidate for the league this year for the first time since Suarez freak season.

Again you can't say they have a better team unless they win something. We'll have to wait and see till the end of the season. And yeah they definitely look like contenders this season but they also did last season for a while ut they fell short despite having the league's top scorer.

I'm not convinced about Liverpool's board - still don't think they would have strengthened if Coutinho hadn't been sold. Regardless we can only judge them by the results at the end of season so we'll wait and see if they can manage to win any silverware.

 

[langster]

City's owners are by far the best. I think people are being influenced by our spending this summer, but before that our spending wasn't great unless a big player was sold.

Bollocks. A grown man playing Fantasy Football in real life isn't any thing to be proud of at all. Nobody respects anything Chelsea or City have won except their own supporters. Everyone always says they bought their titles and while their supporters say they don't care, we all know they really do deep down. It's always there, tainting every victory they have and always used by opposition supporters as a stick to beat them with.

 

[stevoc]

No English club can resist Barca or Madrid when they come knocking on the door. Almost all players consider moving to La Liga giants as the peak of their career and pinnacle of football.

The point that they succeed in investing post Coutinho and now have a far better team than when Coutinho was around is a point for them. We all know what we did to replace Ronaldo.

I'd say United and City can. Real managed to get Ronaldo a decade ago fair enough but only because United allowed him to leave, on United's terms and a year after he had wanted to he was on a long contract United could have made him stay. To get him Real had to almost double the world record fee that they previously paid for Zidane and had to pay it all up front in cash which is pretty much unprecedented.

Since then Barca and Real haven't managed to get any of City or United's top players.

 

[el3mel]

Yeah the fax machine prevented the De Gea transfer but he certainly wasn't our best player at that time. And we could have also sold him the next summer when Madrid were still trying. Aguero has been linked to Barca and a return to Atletico but he's stayed put. But this isn't just about La Liga. It's about Liverpool consistently selling their best players. Liverpool sold Sterling to City. Torres to Chelsea. Whereas we kept Ferdinand. We kept Rooney. And post fax machine we managed to keep De Gea at his best.

Reinvesting money from a big sale does not guarantee success. Liverpool bought Lallana, Can, Lovren, Firminho after Suarez left yet they won nothing. We might have not spent all our Ronaldo money but we still kept winning and that's because our team wasn't just about Ronaldo and we kept that core together.




Again you can't say they have a better team unless they win something. We'll have to wait and see till the end of the season. And yeah they definitely look like contenders this season but they also did last season for a while ut they fell short despite having the league's top scorer.

I'm not convinced about Liverpool's board - still don't think they would have strengthened if Coutinho hadn't been sold. Regardless we can only judge them by the results at the end of season so we'll wait and see if they can manage to win any silverware.

De Gea was our best player by a country mile at this time. I don't think Madrid make any real approach for him after this fax machine incident which I believe killed any relations the 2 clubs might have had. They probably kept their interest but negotiation or setting on th table with Ed, don't think it happened after this incident. Also don't think they have been targrting Aguero. They always looked content with Benzema as a fodder for Ronaldo, and were refusing to sign any main striker.

Actually wished we didn't keep Rooney and sold him to Chelsea instead of giving him that giga contract while he was approaching his decline but that's another thing. Though I'm pretty sure if SAF stayed for 1 more year he would have let him join Chelsea.

And I said that they spent the Suarez money pretty poor just like what we did after selling Ronaldo. My argument is that they became much better and changed their policy the last 2 seasons only. Earlier they were used to buying cheap and average players and trying to get top 4 at best. Last 2 years their ambitions jumped some levels ahead and their recruitments are starting to become better and mostly under radar, and are finally targrting trophies.

They aren't the best board but compared to the rest they can be second after City. We have spending without a plan or vision pst SAF, Roman doesn't look as interested in the team or strengthening it as he was in his earlier years and Levy is only good at keeping his top players and not selling them but doesn't seem interesting in recruiting any more real qualities or challenging for big prizes. Arsenal are a complete mess so leave them behind.

 

[Silver]

It's a bit ridiculous to act like can was a big loss when he wasnt even a guaranteed starter in an average midfield. They were able to sign Salah and firmino to big contracts, and did the same to coutinho before he forced his way out, so it's not a situation where they're unwilling to pay players what they're worth on the market.

Also, while I agree with you that liverpool hasn't accomplished nearly enough under fsg for them to be touted as really good owners, with the benefit of hindsight it's somewhat clear that they've been building towards this.

They took over and spent several years getting their finances in order and renovating Anfield. During that time, they obviously weren't spending or winning a lot, and lost guys like Torres and sterling as a result. Now that they've got a manager they trust, they're backing him and building a very nice squad.

Can made close to 40 appearances each season he was at Liverpool. He definitely wasn't a fringe player and important enough to start the CL final.

During that time, they obviously weren't spending or winning a lot, and lost guys like Torres and sterling as a result. Now that they've got a manager they trust, they're backing him and building a very nice squad.

It's misleading to say they weren't spending a lot - theeeeeeeeey've been consistently spending for years - players like Henderson, Lallana, Benteke, Can etc. So that's not really a viable excuse for losing players like Sterling, Torres and Suarez. And yes they're backing Klopp but they also backed Rodgers and Hodgson. I feel like there's a bit of revisionism here to romanticize Klopp's tenure.

 

[el3mel]

I'd say United and City can. Real managed to get Ronaldo a decade ago fair enough but only because United allowed him to leave, on United's terms and a year after he had wanted to he was on a long contract United could have made him stay. To get him Real had to almost double the world record fee that they previously paid for Zidane and had to pay it all up front in cash which is pretty much unprecedented.

Since then Barca and Real haven't managed to get any of City or United's top players.

Only player from both teams who was targeted by the 2 La Liga giants after Ronaldo is De Gea and we were willing to sell and get Navas in replacement till the fax machine thing happened.

As I said, don't think Madrid were interested in Aguero and were always happy with Benzema as a fodder for Ronaldo.

Have to say the picture will become much clearer, though, if Barca keep their persistance over Pogba and convinced him next summer through his fat agent. Our reaction will determine this argument.

 

[iKnowNothing]

Yet another Real Madrid/Barca thread. If we could do a word cloud of all the thread on the caf, then Ronaldo, Real Madrid, Barca, DDG fax machine would certainly come out top 5.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

Aren't they building a new stadium? Kinda weird timing for them.

 

[RedMachine03]

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[marukomu]

Probably the most racist fans in England if you look at all the incidents over the last 50 years. How funny would it be if a Pakistani billionaire bought them?

 

[RedDevil@84]

Probably the the most racist fans in England if you look at all the incidents over the last 50 years. How funny would it be if a Pakistani billionaire bought them?

Nawaz Sharif or Asif Zardari?

 

[TheReligion]

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/9aakvj/chelsea_are_up_for_sale_for_2_billion_according/

I think this has been on the cards for a while. Be interesting to see how it pans out really but quite telling that the move from Stamford Bridge never materialised. Not sure Roman has the appetite for all that.

 

[caid]

Prior to this season there were complaints that the owners were barely investing in the club. City's are currently the best.


Didn't Abramovich have Visa problems and was getting pissed off because of it?

Mirror says a club source denies it is for sale.

I'll take our cheap, stingy, parasitic owners over City's tbh.

 

[SpyLuke10]

De Gea was our best player by a country mile at this time. I don't think Madrid make any real approach for him after this fax machine incident which I believe killed any relations the 2 clubs might have had. They probably kept their interest but negotiation or setting on th table with Ed, don't think it happened after this incident. Also don't think they have been targrting Aguero. They always looked content with Benzema as a fodder for Ronaldo, and were refusing to sign any main striker.

Actually wished we didn't keep Rooney and sold him to Chelsea instead of giving him that giga contract while he was approaching his decline but that's another thing. Though I'm pretty sure if SAF stayed for 1 more year he would have let him join Chelsea.

And I said that they spent the Suarez money pretty poor just like what we did after selling Ronaldo. My argument is that they became much better and changed their policy the last 2 seasons only. Earlier they were used to buying cheap and average players and trying to get top 4 at best. Last 2 years their ambitions jumped some levels ahead and their recruitments are starting to become better and mostly under radar, and are finally targrting trophies.

They aren't the best board but compared to the rest they can be second after City. We have spending without a plan or vision pst SAF, Roman doesn't look as interested in the team or strengthening it as he was in his earlier years and Levy is only good at keeping his top players and not selling them but doesn't seem interesting in recruiting any more real qualities or challenging for big prizes. Arsenal are a complete mess so leave them behind.

I think Madrid did make a real approach after the fax machine incident but United refusing to even discuss the idea of selling De Gea to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have done amazing in the last 10 years. Lets see if everyone wants to play for one of them when they drop off a bit and aren't contending in Europe anymore and aren't THAT good anymore.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Jim Radcliffe? He should be buying Oldham Athletic, not Chelsea.

 

[duffer]

Reckon United should bid.

Well I am constantly told on here that we were formed in 2003 so that would make us far too young for United to be interested. Stamford Bridge is also not tall enough for Jose.

Maybe in 2022?

 

[duffer]

Probably the most racist fans in England if you look at all the incidents over the last 50 years. How funny would it be if a Pakistani billionaire bought them?

Having a Jewish owner like Roman has lessened the anti semetic stuff (you still hear the odd thing).

If Roman goes I would like a black, gay Muslim billionaire as owner to really shut the bigots up.

 

[suhaylah]

Sheik Mansour brother would be interested i guess. He was looking to buy Liverpool but their owner refused to sell the club..

 

[marukomu]

Having a Jewish owner like Roman has lessened the anti semetic stuff (you still hear the odd thing).

If Roman goes I would like a black, gay Muslim billionaire as owner to really shut the bigots up.

I didn't you were rich.

 

[Mb194dc]

Interesting, maybe Roman worried the club could be "confiscated" by this or the next government / Rusophobia? Could be because of the financial side, with tranfer fees getting so big, and TV revenue probably peaking there probably isn't much upside to the clubs value. Or could be fakenews.

What it means for the club depends on who buys obviously. Roman has been a good owner and got most big decisions correct. Even if he's not putting more in these days, 1bn~ of the sale price would be paying him back.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Bollocks. A grown man playing Fantasy Football in real life isn't any thing to be proud of at all. Nobody respects anything Chelsea or City have won except their own supporters. Everyone always says they bought their titles and while their supporters say they don't care, we all know they really do deep down. It's always there, tainting every victory they have and always used by opposition supporters as a stick to beat them with.

City having the best owners. Wtf am I reading

 

[RoyH1]

Interesting if it happens. Not a lot of people with that kind of money. After Qatar and Abu Dhabi will we now see the likes of Kuwait, Bahrain or Oman moving in?
I hope for Chelsea’s sake that they don’t get a parasitic owner like Kroenke. It must be soul crushing to know you will never have the economic ambition to compete due to the owner.

 

[fjred]

Bollocks. A grown man playing Fantasy Football in real life isn't any thing to be proud of at all. Nobody respects anything Chelsea or City have won except their own supporters. Everyone always says they bought their titles and while their supporters say they don't care, we all know they really do deep down. It's always there, tainting every victory they have and always used by opposition supporters as a stick to beat them with.

Certainly, within my extended family, that is spot on. Being a Utd supporter and originating in Cheetham Hill, I'm the black sheep, the rest being solid blues. All of them are not happy with their situation. Sure, they like the titles and the team but not the setup accepting that they won a 'lottery' and knowing it could easily have been somebody else. They're steeped in the history, disliking the move to the Etihad preferring to have rebuilt Maine Road. Their main delight, though, is not the titles, money, etc. but simply 'stuffing' us!

 

[Marcelinho87]

Ratcliffe ain't it? Not Radcliffe? Or am I missing something?

Anyhow, can't get on the City are the best train as I hate their owners and everything they stand for.

Would love to see how much of a hand they have in Human Rights abuse across the middle east.

 

[redIndianDevil]

No English club can resist Barca or Madrid when they come knocking on the door. Almost all players consider moving to La Liga giants as the peak of their career and pinnacle of football.

The point that they succeed in investing post Coutinho and now have a far better team than when Coutinho was around is a point for them. We all know what we did to replace Ronaldo.

What about when they appointed a transfer committee and signed players like Balotelli, Benteke etc.? They have started spending more because they think Klopp is genuinely improving the squad. They wouldn't pay over the top wages for Sanchez when they sold Suarez.

 

[Acquire Me]

Man City's brother might be interested

 

[Speedy30]

What about when they appointed a transfer committee and signed players like Balotelli, Benteke etc.? They have started spending more because they think Klopp is genuinely improving the squad. They wouldn't pay over the top wages for Sanchez when they sold Suarez.

Balotelli and Benteke were dreadful signings but to say they wouldn't pay for Sanchez is just plain wrong. It was widely reported that Sanchez didn't move due to personal terms and preferring London instead. When we missed out on Sanchez, it was Balotelli or no-one. We had to take a risk and it didn't work out.

 

[marukomu]

Would love to see how much of a hand they have in Human Rights abuse across the middle east.

Brown envelopes to Manchester council, the media and the FA say none.

 

[Ciedre]

Would you rather have an owner that took shedloads of money out or put shedloads in?

Neither

 

[Josep Dowling]

Certainly, within my extended family, that is spot on. Being a Utd supporter and originating in Cheetham Hill, I'm the black sheep, the rest being solid blues. All of them are not happy with their situation. Sure, they like the titles and the team but not the setup accepting that they won a 'lottery' and knowing it could easily have been somebody else. They're steeped in the history, disliking the move to the Etihad preferring to have rebuilt Maine Road. Their main delight, though, is not the titles, money, etc. but simply 'stuffing' us!

Somehow I just don’t believe that.

 

[Nico87]

Unless they had a previous affiliation to Chelsea, why would a singular billionaire want them?. I'd have thought it was more likely to sell to various buyers in shares or a consortium.

Surely part of the attraction in buying these clubs is the ego massage from grateful fans? If your not taking a club from also-rans or even relegation fodder, to genuine title contenders the fans aren't going to see you as the main reason for the clubs success and they wouldn't get the adulation they're craving, they'd be bleeding their own money into a club like Chelsea, and most people would still credit Abromovic for turning them into what they are.

 

[RoyH1]

Unless they had a previous affiliation to Chelsea, why would a singular billionaire want them?. I'd have thought it was more likely to sell to various buyers in shares or a consortium.

Surely part of the attraction in buying these clubs is the ego massage from grateful fans? If your not taking a club from also-rans or even relegation fodder, to genuine title contenders the fans aren't going to see you as the main reason for the clubs success and they wouldn't get the adulation they're craving, they'd be bleeding their own money into a club like Chelsea, and most people would still credit Abromovic for turning them into what they are.

The only London club to win a CL is a big plus to some egomaniac billionaire somewhere. Plus the word Chelsea in itself has a connotation with money worldwide (maybe not in the UK anymore).

 

[Lennon7]

Somehow I just don’t believe that.

I can believe that. I’m starting to feel slightly similar about United - we’re turning into a brand more than a club, with massive money singings every window and money being the main objective over fan satisfaction. In a sense we’ve lost touch of our history.

I’m sure 90% of City fans are loving it at the moment, but some probably prefer the family feel of supporting a smaller club. City have also turned into a cash cow and have acquired a tonne of plastic fans in the process, you can see why some of the die hard fans would become a bit disillusioned with their club.

 

[Castia]

Aren't they building a new stadium? Kinda weird timing for them.

Nope, Abramovich cancelled those plans when he got refused a visa in May.

 

[Rory 7]

Why the praise for Liverpool's owners? They were heavily criticized up until recently.

I think some people can now see Liverpool’s owners have a plan and play the long game, unlike the Glazers. Fenway have invested in infrastructure at Anfield and have shown patience in transfers; waiting a year for Keita, six months for Van Dijk. Plus they’ve a willingness to break the bank when needed e.g. for Allison and Van Dijk. Most Pool fans have stopped criticising Fenway in recent months. Just goes to show, fans aren’t stupid, even Liverpool fans. If fans can see a real plan or vision from club owners they’ll be patient too. Getting away from the ‘quick fix’ mentality United have pursued over the last five years is something I’d welcome. I’m sure Chelsea fans would welcome stability at their club too.

 

[duffer]

If he is not allowed into the country I totally understand why he'd sell.

Not sure what sort of bloke Sir Jim Ratcliffe is, but he's worth £20 billion and has a season ticket atChelsea.

 

[Josep Dowling]

I can believe that. I’m starting to feel slightly similar about United - we’re turning into a brand more than a club, with massive money singings every window and money being the main objective over fan satisfaction. In a sense we’ve lost touch of our history.

I’m sure 90% of City fans are loving it at the moment, but some probably prefer the family feel of supporting a smaller club. City have also turned into a cash cow and have acquired a tonne of plastic fans in the process, you can see why some of the die hard fans would become a bit disillusioned with their club.

United has been cash cow through most of the Premier League era. It’s only because we aren’t winning anything now it has become more noticeable.

 

[Lennon7]

United has been cash cow through most of the Premier League era. It’s only because we aren’t winning anything now it has become more noticeable.

I’d agree we’ve always been the most commercial team throughout the premier league era but we still valued our history and stuck to our guns. I’d say it’s different now. We’re making more sponsorship deals than we are bringing players through the academy.

 

[dove]

I’d agree we’ve always been the most commercial team throughout the premier league era but we still valued our history and stuck to our guns. I’d say it’s different now. We’re making more sponsorship deals than we are bringing players through the academy.

We still play more players from academy than every TOP 6 club combined. The expectation that we can challenge for a title playing many academy players is just unrealistic and we as fans put way too much pressure to do it IMO. For example LVG played lots of youngsters but we all knew they were bang average and would end up at Championship or lower in a few years. That's exactly what happened. Now we have a similar situation with Jose and McTominay. It's so clear that in a few years we will sell him to the likes of Stoke or Hull but Jose feels he must give him minutes because you know, play youth etc etc.