Chelsea star slams Pochettino over ‘trust’ issues as Carragher hits out at ‘ridiculous’ owners

Chelsea striker Armando Broja has hit out at former manager Mauricio Pochettino for lacking “trust and belief” in him as a player.

The Blues parted company with Pochettino towards the end of May despite the Argentinian guiding them to a great end to the season as they managed to finish sixth in the Premier League.

It felt like that Chelsea were just beginning to gel their huge number of new signings from over the past couple of seasons with a clear style of play developing under Pochettino.

But the Chelsea hierarchy decided that they couldn’t continue with him at the helm and Blues striker Broja – who spent the second half of last season on loan at Fulham – could now benefit from Enzo Maresca’s arrival as new head coach at Stamford Bridge.

Broja was publicly told to “change his body language” by Pochettino and the Albania international seemed pleased that he could now get a chance at Chelsea next term.

When asked about the former Chelsea boss’ comments about his body language, Broja told The Athletic: “A little bit [surprising], because I have been through so much with the injury and he was saying something about me needing to be more happy.

“I did feel like I could have had more trust and belief [from him]. I basically just got thrown into the Premier League straight away – which is tough to deal with anyway, but I had no build-up.

“I have always been quite hard on myself because I expect a lot, but I have always had a really good attitude when it comes to training and games.

“I always try to do my best for the team; try to win. I am not a player who sulks or whinges.

“I did think when Nicolas Jackson went away with Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations [at the start of 2024] that I would be given an opportunity to play a load of games.

“I started three times in January, but I thought there were times I could have been utilised more. I got the feeling people expected me to just run past three, four players and put it in the bottom corner.

“But I was fighting to get my fitness and things were going through my head like, ‘What will happen to me in January?’ – there was a lot of speculation around me at the time, whether I would go on loan.

MORE ON CHELSEA FROM F365
👉 Mason Greenwood: PL trio ‘move to sign’ Man Utd forward after report reveals Chelsea ‘enquiry’
👉 Tottenham bid to hinder Villa’s ‘part exchange’ offer ‘expected’ with Chelsea ‘likely to sell’
👉 Merson predicts where Man Utd, Chelsea and Spurs will finish in the Premier League next season

“I just wanted answers from the club, a bit of reassurance, and I didn’t get that. In the end, I decided to go on loan because I wanted to get more minutes.”

On next season, Broja added: “If I need to go somewhere else to get back in my groove, then of course I would want to do that.

“As a player, there is no better feeling than being on the pitch and knowing you have a club and a team who defends you; a club who allow you to make mistakes because they know you will become something. But right now, all my focus is on doing my best for Albania at the Euros.”

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has hit out at Chelsea’s owners for their “ridiculous” decision to get rid of Pochettino at the end of the season.

“That was probably the biggest shock I’ve had this season,” Carragher exclusively told The Metro.

“I could not believe it. It’s a ridiculous decision. But, it’s just another one on the long list of ridiculous decisions Chelsea have made.”