Boehly ‘could kill’ Chelsea after controversial deal amid Championship claim

Frank Leboeuf claims multi-club ownership could ‘kill’ Chelsea barely a year after BlueCo became the owners of Strasbourg.

Leboeuf, 56, arrived at Stamford Bridge from the French club in 1996 after spending five years with the team. That was the last time both clubs did business before the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital acquired the two teams.

Over the 12 months since they purchased Strasbourg, Andrey Santos and Angelo Gabriel have spent time on loan at the Ligue 1 club, with more moves expected to follow this summer. Leboeuf, though, is far from a fan of the agreement.

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“For me, it raises a big deontological problem; it’s not normal, and it’s something that I don’t understand,” Leboeuf told Get French Football News. “But there you go, it’s the new system, it’s a financial issue.

“I think it’s good that Chelsea is close to Strasbourg to help them out financially. But when you’re not close to a club, you can’t give your opinion – you don’t know the region, and you don’t know how football works there. Strasbourg is known as “ little Marseille ” – the club belongs to the locals – it’s their club – it would be like asking Newcastle to do whatever Chelsea want.

“You can put money in – no problem – but you can’t be the one making decisions if you don’t know the region, you don’t know how it works. So you need to be really careful because the fans are sceptical; they’re disappointed for the moment because they’re not seeing anything happen.

“And you get the impression that Chelsea are transferring their issues on to Strasbourg – so no players of experience, only youngsters, only trading business, all about the future and nothing for the present. And that raises issues for me, as neither at Strasbourg nor at Chelsea will it work for me. I don’t believe in it.

“I think it could kill Chelsea; it could also lead Strasbourg towards a slow death. So it can bring money in, but at some point, you need results, and if it’s to end up in Ligue 2 or in the Championship for Chelsea, then it won’t do.”