Drogba SLAMS Chelsea: 'I don't recognise my club anymore'

Suraj Radia

• 18 Apr 2023 22:02 BST
• 2 min read

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba admitted he ‘doesn’t recognise his club anymore’ following the Blues’ dramatic decline this season on the back of a Champions League exit to Real Madrid.

Frank Lampard’s side succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at home to Real to crash out of Europe 4-0 on aggregate, giving the interim manager his fourth defeat in four games in charge and ensuring Chelsea have nothing to celebrate come the end of the season.

Chelsea sit 11th in the Premier League and are enduring their worst season in more than 25 years despite new owner Todd Boehly spending more than £600 million on players since buying the club from Roman Abramovich last summer.

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Drogba, who spent nine years at Chelsea and won 14 trophies during the Abramovich era, was speaking on French TV prior to the second leg against Real and criticised the club’s decision to immediately get rid of most the staff from the previous regime.

“I knew this club with a certain class during the Abramovich era, but today I find it lacking. It’s very hard for me to see how they got rid of certain people," Drogba told CanalPlus.

“They should go back to the principles and values they had. I don't recognise my club anymore."

Chelsea paying the price for poor restructuring under Boehly

Chelsea have won just seven of their last 30 games across all competitions in a season which has seen three managers at the helm and no fewer than 18 new signings.

The arrival of the new owners at Stamford Bridge saw many familiar faces from behind the scenes depart, such as executive Marina Granovskaia as well as the majority of the club’s recruitment and medical team.

Chelsea now sit closer to the relegation zone than the top four and the club’s squad is woefully unbalanced and devoid of attacking quality despite the significant outlay.

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The whimpering exit to Real was unsurprising given Chelsea’s recent form and the Blues have suffered an unfamiliar downfall in rapid timing since Boehly’s arrival.

Despite the presence of Lampard at the helm, Drogba’s comments about the ‘unrecognisable’ state of Chelsea should represent alarm bells to the hierarchy, who now face the task of restructuring the team on the back of a terrible season.