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Graham Potter has accused those who chant ‘what a waste of money’ at Chelsea of being envious of the club’s buying power.
Far from being the most popular club in the Kingdom of England, Chelsea did not improve their popularity rating after their actions in January. Already hated in the time of Roman Abramovich for his massive investments in the transfer market when the Russian arrived at the head of the Blues, Chelsea remain true to themselves and continue to spend lavishly.
Potter assumes Chelsea politics
After taking over the club in the spring of 2022, the Blues have splurged in the last two transfer markets. After taking the plunge last summer, with Todd Boehly and his associates in charge, they continued their momentum in January 2023. Chelsea broke the British transfer record by acquiring Enzo Fernandez for 121 million euros, while that players like Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Benoît Badiashile have also been the subject of significant transactions.
Fulham fans took delight in chanting “what a waste of money” to the Chelsea team during the West London derby at Stamford Bridge (0-0) on Friday night. Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are among many Premier League managers who have wondered how the Blues could invest so much in the transfer window.
“Envy is not a quality”
Graham Potter, who will be the first to benefit from this investment, responded to all these criticisms at a press conference: “We have spent the money we have spent. The media is not going to let this go under the radar. All of football is going to sing this song for sure. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. There is the free speech, which is fine. I’m not worried about that.”
“Envy is not a good quality to have. I have never been envious of anyone. I tried to work and do the best I could under the circumstances I had. It is better to compare yourself to yourself rather than to someone else, because you do not know the context or the situation. I also understand that this is the world we live in, and that’s fine with me.”added the Chelsea manager.
In the summer of 2022, Chelsea spent more than €270 million acquiring Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and their total spend for the season is believed to have exceeded the bar of 650 million euros with the investments made on the two transfer windows.
Chelsea have yet to see a return on this investment. Graham Potter’s side sit a dismal ninth in the Premier League table, 10 points off the top four, and find themselves knocked out of both domestic cups and facing a tough test against Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 of the Premier League. Champions League.
