Chelsea pushed closer to Champions League BAN as INEOS face another failure

Robin Bairner

5 Apr 2025 07:30 CDT
3 min read

Chelsea’s prospects of playing in the 2025/26 Champions League were dealt a blow on Friday as the possibility of a ban from the competition by UEFA came closer to reality.

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Although the Blues are doing their own part to reach the competition as they lie fourth in the Premier League after overcoming Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Thursday thanks to an Enzo Fernandez goal, events being played out elsewhere threaten to put a stick in the wheels of the Stamford Bridge outfit.

Chelsea’s multi-club model is partially to blame, with the success of Liam Rosenior’s Strasbourg outfit jeopardising the prospects of Todd Boehly’s side from playing in the competition.

As things stand, due to the multi-club model that BlueCo has in place, both teams cannot play in the same European competition.

BlueCo face Strasbourg threat

If both Chelsea and Strasbourg were to qualify for the Champions League, the team with the better position in their domestic competition would be the team to go forward into the tournament.

With the Blues sitting fourth in the league, Rosenior would need to lead his side to an unlikely third-placed finish in Ligue 1.

But this unlikely prospect looks increasingly likely after INEOS-owned Nice collapsed to a shock home loss against Nantes on Friday. Franck Haise’s side suffered a third defeat in their last four matches as their form fades.

© IMAGO - Diego Moreira celebrates a goal for Strasbourg, one of the form teams in Ligue 1

Strasbourg are sixth, just a single point behind Nice in fourth. Backed by INEOS since 2019, they have yet to qualify for the Champions League proper as they suffer similar underachievement to Manchester United.

Adding to Chelsea’s concerns over their Champions League future, Marseille, who are third in Ligue 1, are suffering a similar meltdown to Nice as they have lost four of five and are just three points clear of Racing.

Strasbourg, by contrast, are the form team in Ligue 1 behind PSG. With six victories in their last seven games, they stand as good a chance as anyone as finishing third at this point in the season, and if they were to do this, owners BlueCo would face a major dilemma as Chelsea likely would not qualify for the Champions League.

There are some possible solutions, with a couple of loopholes open to Todd Boehly. One of these involves a change of ownership structure while the other would be reducing their stake in one of the clubs, which would inevitably be Strasbourg.