The BlueCo project has been exposed! Why Chelsea were the Premier League's biggest losers of the international break

The ownership of Chelsea has been a hot topic of debate ever since they were formed in 1905, with the main purpose of the club being to simply fill the redeveloped Stamford Bridge stadium. When Roman Abramovich took over from Ken Bates in 2003, he pumped in billions to buy the world's best players and improve the infrastructure. It led to the Blues becoming a force in the Premier League and across Europe, but those days are over.

After Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Chelsea were acquired by a consortium consisting of Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss, Mark Walter and the Clearlake Capital equity firm, coming under a new umbrella called 'BlueCo'.

As owners, BlueCo moved away from Abramovich's model of living in the moment and spending vast sums on proven players. Instead, they are still forking out fortunes, but on younger stars with potential, even if it means weakening their chances of short-term success. It's a strategy that hasn't gone down well with supporters, who crave trophies, winning and most importantly a sense of identity.

The March international break should have been a chance for Chelsea to reset and regroup for the final stretch of a testing 2025-26 season. Instead, it has exposed the fragility of the owners' plan for the club.

Awful form

Chelsea's form heading into the March international break was bleak. After they trounced top-five rivals Aston Villa 4-1 away from home on March 4, a win that seemed to cement their status as favourites to qualify for next season's Champions League, the Blues fell off a cliff.

Following that trip to Villa Park was an FA Cup fifth-round tie at Championship side Wrexham. Liam Rosenior's men needed extra-time and a one-man advantage to prevail 4-2 after extra-time, setting the tone for an ominous fortnight ahead. Days later, Chelsea collapsed late on and lost 5-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter, throwing away what was for around 70 minutes a fine performance against the European champions.

A 1-0 defeat at home to Newcastle was overshadowed by Chelsea's childish and performative pre-kick-off antics of huddling over the ball inside the centre circle, and Rosenior's explanation that this was being done to 'respect the ball' did not fly.

March ended with back-to-back 3-0 losses for Chelsea, firstly to PSG in the Champions League and then away at Everton in their first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Blues were perhaps fortunate that the international break ensured they couldn't fall any further down that losing spiral without a period of reflection.

Enzo heading for the exits?

While away with Argentina, Chelsea vice-captain Enzo Fernandez has given a couple of interviews that should concern the club hierarchy.

He first claimed that he was left confused by the decision to remove Enzo Maresca from his position as head coach on New Year's Day, stating: "I don't understand it. Sometimes as a player, there's things we don't understand and the way they try to manage things. I don't have an answer for you because I don't know. Obviously, it was a departure that hurt a lot because we had a lot of identity, he gave us order but it's the way that football is, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. But we always had a clear identity when it came to training, playing and obviously his departure hurt us especially in the middle of the season - it cuts everything short."

To be so open about a former manager being sacked is one thing, but Fernandez has since also spoken about his desire to live in Madrid amid links to Real. When initially asked staying at Chelsea in the long-term, he replied: "I don't know, there are eight games left and the FA Cup. There's the World Cup and then we'll see."

Days later, he was quizzed on where he could go in future: "I'd like to live in Spain. I really like Madrid; it reminds me of Buenos Aires. Players live where they want. I'd live in Madrid. I get by in English, but I'd be more comfortable in Spanish."

Cucurella concurs

Fernandez was not the only Chelsea star to echo those sentiments regarding Maresca and a future a transfer to La Liga, with another of their more senior players, Marc Cucurella, chiming in.

"With Enzo Maresca in charge, we were more stable, because we worked together for 18 months," the left-back told The Athletic. "If you look at our first pre-season with him, there were doubts. You need a process for every player to understand what we need to do. In our last months with Maresca, we played almost by heart. If we changed the system, we knew what we had to do. You need that time.

"When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you'd die for him. The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision.

"The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell. We had a caretaker (former under-21s coach Calum McFarlane) first, then a new manager, with new ideas and no time to work on them. To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season… Look at Arsenal now, who are fighting for every trophy. They’ve been with [Mikel] Arteta for almost seven years and they have not won much. But that trust in the project gives rewards."

At least when it came to being asked about a return to Spain with boyhood club Barcelona, Cucurella decided to kick the can down the road and insist he would likely still be at Chelsea even beyond this summer, unlike Fernandez.

"It would be difficult to refuse," he said of joining Barca again. "It's not just about me. I'd have to think about my family. If it happens, it happens, and we'll see what decision is made. You always think about going back. [But] I'm very happy there [in England], and so is my family. I'll leave it for a few years from now."

Fernandez's Chelsea contract runs until 2032, so the club hold all the leverage in negotiations should he actively seek a move, but Cucurella's deal is believed to be up in 2028, despite agreeing a substantial pay rise, and it would be easier for him to engineer an exit.

Shots fired at the board

Cucurella, who is the third-oldest player at the entire club, also shockingly spoke out against the board's vision of acquiring young players instead of those who would be able to make an immediate impact.

"I understand this is part of the club's policy, and that they want to take this direction - signing young players and looking to the future. But, for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged," he said of the 8-2 aggregate defeat to PSG.

"We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals. Against PSG, we lacked players that had gone through situations like that.

"You need time as well, and I know the young players are the ones that will have the experience in the future. But you need to find the balance between both worlds."

Palmer in a rut

We also have to address the elephant in the room: Cole Palmer hasn't been at it this season, registering only four goals from open play and one assist in the Premier League. But can you blame him? Palmer has battled fitness and injury problems all year having not had a summer break since 2022 and featured in 97 games across his first two seasons at Chelsea.

Palmer is yet to fully get to grips with Rosenior's ever-changing system, while Premier League teams seem to have changed the way they defend him, throwing double and triple teams at him to stifle his influence. Without a burst of pace, it's harder to escape those situations unless you and your team-mates think quickly on the same page.

The chance to represent England and nail down a place in Thomas Tuchel's thinking for the World Cup could have breathed fresh life into Palmer's season, yet if anything he seemed to play his way out of contention and is at risk of actually having a summer off. That might not be terrible in the long run, but it speaks to his form that we've reached this point of discussion.

Complicating matters are links to Manchester United that won't go away. There's not really any need for the Red Devils to add him to their squad (unless they sell Bruno Fernandes) and he's on Chelsea's longest contract until 2033. There's no smoke without fire though, even if this feels like a non-starter transfer rumour.

Make-or-break month

Chelsea return from the international break with three successive home games that could end up defining their season. They welcome League One strugglers Port Vale to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, presenting Rosenior with the perfect opportunity to take his team to Wembley and end the Blues' eight-year drought in the competition.

Then comes the Premier League gauntlet, hosting title-chasing Manchester City and then Manchester United one week later. That home date with the Red Devils is expected to see a joint-fan protest between Blues supporters and those from BlueCo's other club, Strasbourg. Were Chelsea to lose both of these games, they could tumble out of the European positions and even the top half of the table altogether, should other results go against them.

The hierarchy seem committed to Rosenior, but their word will be tested if this sticky patch becomes more of a problem. Should he come under more pressure, the finger of blame must be pointed at the sporting directors for their role in blowing up a campaign that was par-for-the-course.

Does this inexperienced manager and his crop of ill-disciplined players have what it takes to save Chelsea's season? It's hard to see the answer being 'yes' at this point.