Bayern CEO blasts Boehly for ‘wasting’ an ‘absurd’ amount of money ‘only for Chelsea to be 10th’
Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has blasted Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly for ‘wasting hundreds of millions of euros’ in the transfer market.
A consortium led by Boehly purchased the Premier League club from Roman Abramovich last year.
The American billionaire went straight to work in his first transfer window at the helm, spending around £250million on eight new players.
Out of the eight summer acquisitions, it would be fair to say that none have been a success this term, though Denis Zakaria – who cost the least out of the lot having joined on loan – showed signs of promise before sustaining a long-term injury.
With Chelsea struggling in the Premier League under new head coach Graham Potter, Boehly spent an absolute fortune in what was an unprecedented winter transfer window.
The Blues broke the British transfer window by signing midfielder Enzo Fernandez for £108m and also hijacked Arsenal’s deal to buy Mykhaylo Mudryk by agreeing a £62m plus add-ons fee with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Another £300m was spent on eight more players with an average age of 20.6 as Boehly looks to build a young squad and give time to a young manager, similar to Arsenal’s project under Mikel Arteta.
Chelsea are expected to be active again in the upcoming summer window and have agreed a deal to sign RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku.
Declan Rice is another player who has been linked with the Blues for a while, though Arsenal are believed to be leading the race to sign the West Ham midfielder.
The Hammers will hope to use the inflated market – which has been inflated thanks to the spending of Chelsea – in order to receive an extortionate fee for their star player.
Many rival leagues are looking on in anger, with La Liga president Javier Tebas slamming the “doped market” in England and his corporate director Javier Gomez accusing Premier League clubs of “cheating”.
The latest to voice their displeasure at clubs like Man Utd and Chelsea for their spending habits is Bayern CEO Rummenigge.
The German has criticised Premier League sides for spending “crazy money in an irrational way”.
“English clubs spend crazy money in an irrational way, while other clubs in Europe go ahead between scandals and financial crises, but are still able to bring trophies at home,” Rummenigge told Corriere dello Sport (quotes via Football London).
Rummenigge then singled out Chelsea, who have sent an “absurd” amount of money, which has not helped them get out of mid-table in the Premier League, as he was happy to point out.
“Chelsea wasted hundreds of millions of euros just to find themselves tenth in the table, it’s absurd,” he continued.
“The globalisation of the market has created an incredible disparity. Once upon a time, there was an internal market and money circulated within a system. Wealth must be distributed in a better way.”
Pressure is growing on Potter to turn things around after Chelsea’s home loss to Southampton on Saturday made it two wins from their last 14 league matches.
Next up is a London derby against Tottenham away from home. It does not get any easier for the ex-Brighton boss.
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