Chelsea: Maresca reveals what’s to blame for Gallagher sale as head coach demands ‘rule change’
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed his “personal opinion” on Conor Gallagher’s imminent move to Atletico Madrid as he demands a “rule change”.
Gallagher has entered the final year of his contract and Chelsea were always likely to cash in on him this summer if they could not agree a new deal with their academy product.
Gallagher is set to leave Chelsea…
The England international was a key player for Chelsea last season under Mauricio Pochettino, but he was expected to drop down the pecking order in 2024/25 if he stuck around as new head coach Maresca is implementing a new style of play.
Amid interest from Premier League pair Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, Gallagher has turned down a couple of fresh contract offers with Chelsea only willing to give him a two-year contract extension with an option of an additional year.
La Liga giants Atletico Madrid recently moved to the front of the queue in the race to sign Gallagher, with Chelsea accepting a £33m bid.
Gallagher was given until the end of last week to decide on a move to Atletico Madrid and it emerged in the early hours of Monday morning that he has ‘said yes’ to joining the Spanish side.
This imminent deal has angered Chelsea supporters, with Maresca saying the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules “compel clubs to sell players”.
“This is not Chelsea’s problem. This is the rules problem,” Maresca said.
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“The clubs are compelled to sell players because of the rules. It’s not a Chelsea problem, it is a Premier League problem. The intention from Chelsea is not to sell – but the rules in the end make us. I love that [Franceso] Totti was at Roma for 20 years and a one-club man.
“I love that, we all love that. It’s the rules. My personal opinion is it’s a shame because we all like to see a one-club man. If we want to promote academy players – yes, change the rule.”
Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solehkol has revealed the moment which ensured Gallagher’s ‘Chelsea career was effectively over’.
‘Conor Gallagher’s Chelsea career was effectively over after he was told last week he would be a squad player if he stayed because of the new style of play,’ Solhekol said in a report for Sky Sports.
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‘Atletico Madrid offered him the long contract he wanted and Champions League football. They gave him until the end of the weekend to decide if he wanted to move there and Chelsea made it clear it would be the right move for him if he wanted a long-term deal.
‘Chelsea did not want him to run down his contract and leave on a free next summer. They did not want a repeat and distraction of the Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen situations.
‘Gallagher was due to train at Cobham on Monday if he had turned down the move to Spain. Chelsea’s first team squad are in the US until Wednesday.’
