Chelsea legend Joe Cole has expressed concerns over the growing tensions between the club’s owners and how it could disrupt manager Enzo Maresca’s ability to manage his squad, Soccernet.football reports.
According to several reports, a rift has emerged between minority shareholder Todd Boehly and majority shareholder Clearlake, creating uncertainty at Stamford Bridge.
Cole has suggested that the situation could filter down to the players, creating further challenges for Maresca.
“I think that clearly at the club, it’s disjointed,” Cole told TNTSports. “There are different factions going on, and that will filter down. It’s just the case of how much.”
The strained relationship between Boehly and Clearlake’s co-founders, Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, has reportedly reached a point where both parties are considering buying each other out.
This power struggle comes after a spending spree of more than £1.5 billion in transfers since 2022, which has added pressure on the club’s performance on the pitch.
Maresca, who took over as Chelsea’s manager in the summer, now faces the daunting task of managing a bloated squad, which Cole believes will add more complexity to his role.
“The job of Enzo Maresca has just got harder, because all of them players, the 40 odd players within that club who are probably wondering, is my future at Chelsea? Is it away?” Cole explained. “There’ll be a huge amount of uncertainty, and that just ramps that up with the fans, with the players.”
The rift reportedly intensified following disagreements over the direction of the club, with Boehly wanting to retain former manager Mauricio Pochettino after a sixth-place finish last season, while Eghbali and the sporting directors pushed for a change. This lack of unified leadership is something Cole believes is hurting the club’s direction.
“You need your ownership group to be one force, whatever that force may be,” Cole emphasised. “With Chelsea, we don’t know which direction we’re going in, so that needs to be ironed out and sorted as soon as possible to give Enzo the best chance to get the results on the pitch.”
Cole also speculated that the leaked rumours of the ownership rift may have been deliberate.
“For me, it’s more interesting where the source came from,” he said. “It was like a financial part of the media and it came out that the two owners are trying to buy each other out, which suggests to me it’s been going on for some time. Maybe there’s been a lack of communication between the two parties.”
After managing a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace before the international break, Chelsea head to Bournemouth on Saturday seeking their second win of the league campaign.
Maresca’s Blues lost at Stamford Bridge to champions Manchester City on the opening weekend before easing to a 6-2 win at Wolves.