Former defender Frank Leboeuf has claimed that the current Chelsea hierarchy have "destroyed" the Premier League club.
Since their arrival in May 2022, co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have spent in excess of £1bn on new signings, many of whom are younger players with potential.
However, as a result, Chelsea have lost their standing towards the top of the Premier League table, instead being on course for a second successive bottom-half finish.
Although Mauricio Pochettino guided his team to an EFL Cup final earlier in the season and the Blues are in the FA Cup semi-finals, with their inconsistency in the top flight has kept the pressure on the Argentine.
That was ramped up on Saturday as Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Burnley, who played over a half with 10 men and twice came from behind to earn a share of the spoils at Stamford Bridge, also almost winning the contest in added-on time.
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What has Leboeuf had to say?
Leboeuf arrived at Chelsea in 1996 and played a key role in taking the club to the next level at that particular time, winning two FA Cups, a League Cup, the Cup Winners Cup and a UEFA Super Cup.
The centre-back scored 17 goals from 144 Premier League games before returning to France, but 23 years on from his departure, Leboeuf has launched a scathing attack on the current Chelsea board.
Speaking to ESPN, he said: "Sorry, but the people on the board have destroyed this club. That's what you have to face. How do you rebuild that? I don't know, it's going to take a long time.
"I've talked about it a lot and I'm fed up repeating myself. As long as you don't have people to rely on, meaning experienced players, you can't build anything. This is what you face when you're trying to build an academy team."
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"Chelsea players have no stamina"
Leboeuf did not reserve his criticism for the powers-that-be at Stamford Bridge, claiming that the current Chelsea squad have limited fitness levels and are "unprofessional".
He added: "The Chelsea players have no stamina, nothing in their heart, nothing in their brain, they don't know what to do. It's unprofessional and unfair to the people who love this club. I'm fed up.
"Ten-men Burnley should have won the game. Chelsea Football Club against Burnley, that's the end of it. I want to congratulate the fans for still being able to go to Stamford Bridge to watch that."
Chelsea must quickly turn their attention to facing Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, requiring a win to remain in the hunt for European qualification.
With that game the final fixture of the upcoming gameweek, Chelsea will drop down to 13th place before kickoff should Fulham and Bournemouth defeat Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
Darren Plant
