“An absolute mess”- Ex-Super Eagles striker Mikel Obi berates Chelsea board

Former Super Eagles midfielder Mikel Obi has expressed disappointment with Chelsea's performance since the BlueCo Consortium took over, Soccernet.ng reports.

It has been a rollercoaster ride for Chelsea since the BlueCo Consortium led by their American owner Todd Boehly, purchased the club in 2022. Since they took over, they have adopted a new transfer policy that has seen an influx of many young and unproven players from abroad.

Most of them have failed to perform while others have not even had opportunity to prove their mettle. With these players struggling to find their feet, Chelsea have also struggled, as they have finished in sixth and eleventh in the past two seasons.

This season, the outlook is still bleak because of their performance in pre-season and the appointment of Enzo Maresca, who is still a relatively untested manager.

Former Nigeria captain Mikel Obi, who spent eleven years at Chelsea has often voiced his displeasure with the recent trajectory of the club. And in a recent interview, he openly blamed the management for Blues' struggles.

“We have to start well, we can't have another bad season because the last three seasons have been really bad, and we could wander into being a normal mid-table club, Mikel said.

“We don't want to be that, we don't want to be a mid-table club. Chelsea is a club that always competes in the Premier League and the Champions League, that's where we've always been, and we want to return to that.

“With the way the club is run right now with all these players and the structure of the club, it's an absolute mess, somebody needs to sort it out.

“I spoke with the sporting director when I returned to London, and he was telling me about the who project, a 5-10 year project. But there is no 5-10 years project here, we want to win now. And Enzo Maresca has gotten his hands full with this foot all club, I don't see us having a good season.”

Chelsea have a tough start to the season as they play Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The Cityzens already defeated the Blues in pre-season, and they will be looking to repeat it.