Mauricio Pochettino’s telling reaction over Chelsea owners’ plan says it all

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Mauricio Pochettino's telling reaction over Chelsea owners' plan says it all

Former Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has opened up on his time at Stamford Bridge and issued a telling response after being asked if the club's BlueCo ownership have a 'plan'

CommentsChelseaKieran King11:45, 30 Apr 2026Updated 11:45, 30 Apr 2026

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Mauricio Pochettino has urged Chelsea's owners to "explain the plan" amid widespread criticism around the Blues' vision and transfer approach since the Todd Boehly-led takeover.

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US businessman Boehly and global investment firm Clearlake Capital came together in 2022 to buy Chelsea in a deal worth £4.25 billion. The group, later known as BlueCo, took over the west London club after previous owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government for alleged links to Vladimir Putin after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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In the four years since, there has been little, if any, progression made. The first season of the BlueCo ownership proved to be a disaster, as the Blues went through four different managers including Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, failed to win a single trophy and ended up finishing 12th in the Premier League.

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After ending the season with Frank Lampard on an interim basis, Pochettino was appointed as the club's new permanent head coach in May 2023. Despite guiding the club to a Carabao Cup final, an FA Cup semi-final and a sixth-place finish in the Premier League, Pochettino departed and was replaced by Enzo Maresca.

The following season did prove to be more successful for BlueCo and Chelsea, as Maresca guided them to their first major piece of silverware in four years in the Conference League, before then helping them win the Club World Cup. However, after a mixed start to the 2025/26 season, Maresca was axed in January of this year.

Liam Rosenior then arrived after impressing at sister club Strasbourg, but his appointment proved to be a disaster and he parted company with the Blues last week following a three-match losing run.

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Although BlueCo have spent more than £1.5bn on transfers in the four years owning the club, Chelsea fans have become frustrated with the lack of progress and success during their time at Stamford Bridge.

Indeed, with the club adopting a strict policy of signing younger players and putting them on long contracts with the potential of becoming world-class in the future, Chelsea have little experience in the squad.

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It has prompted some supporters to question whether Chelsea's BlueCo ownership have a 'plan' to bring the club back some success – but now Pochettino has delivered his verdict on the topic.

Asked about whether BlueCo have a 'plan' when on The Overlap's Stick to Football with Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Jill Scott and Roy Keane, Pochettino said: "I think they have a plan, it's completely different to what was Chelsea in the past with [Roman] Abramovich. It's true that it's not easy because it's difficult for people to understand.

"In a new project, I am thinking, 'how can we show the plan and what can we achieve with that'. Sometimes in football it's difficult to explain because the only people that listen are in the boardroom, but there are too many people making decisions. Football is not an ordinary business and sometimes people struggle. But I think they (Chelsea's owners) need to explain the plan."

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Asked whether he understood the Chelsea plan, Pochettino replied: "What I understood didn't happen after."

Neville tried to press Pochettino to expand on his answer, but Ian Wright recognised that the Argentine felt uncomfortable speaking about the situation and attempted to step in.

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Pochettino, however, added: "Chelsea was about winning, you can't go in there and finish in a certain position and accept it. It was about winning. In the past, they won Champions Leagues, had the best and most experienced players. But that was a completely different project. The people need to explain the plan and how it's different."

"When we arrived the team was 12th in the Premier League, we didn't play in Europe, we was in the process between one ownership group to another and there were things we needed to put in place," he continued.

"Why I think I am disappointed with things internally is that under our assessment and our vision, it was a normal process to create something solid for the future. We wanted to add quality but not as quick as the people wanted to go. We finished sixth winning the last five or six games, we arrived to the final of the Carabao Cup, we played Manchester City in the semi-final of the FA Cup, in both games we deserved to win. But because of experience we didn't win. I felt we were in a good trajectory and our vision was heading in the right direction."

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Chelsea still have the chance to win a trophy before the end of this season as the Blues, led by interim head coach Calum McFarlane, face Manchester City in the FA Cup final next month.

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