Didier Drogba slams Chelsea owner Todd Boehly as Real Madrid defeats Chelsea overwhelmingly 4-0 on aggregate to leave the Champions League.
The blame game has begun after Chelsea's terrible season came to an end with their elimination from the Champions League after losing to Real Madrid 4-0 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.
The Blues' last chance to save their season vanished as Real Madrid defeated Frank Lampard's team 4-0 on aggregate to eliminate them from the Champions League.
By the end of the second leg of the quarterfinal, Stamford Bridge was filled with empty seats, just as it had been when Rodrygo snuck past Kepa Arrizabalaga to score the second of two goals 10 minutes from time to advance the European champions.
In retrospect, Real won 2-0, and despite Marc Cucurella and N'Golo Kante's two magnificent chances either side of halftime, Chelsea never appeared to have a chance to come back and save the game.
They had the opportunity to swing the match in Chelsea's favor at 0-0 on the evening. Real, though, proved to be too strong for Lampard's team over the course of 180 minutes, and they now appear set to sluggishly finish the season with nothing left to play for and an unknown future after.
"For the entire hour, we played pretty well. You must seize the opportunities we provided, according to Lampard.
"When you lose at this level, you don't want to overly compliment the performance, but we were far better. The players may carry this feeling into the future because this club has advanced further in this competition.
"You represent Chelsea. Therefore, you must give your all in every game you play. We must appear, and I won't allow anyone off the hook. That bar cannot be lowered.
Chelsea's dreams of capping the season on a high were dashed by this Champions League exit, and many will now take the finger of blame at owner Todd Boehly.
Boehly spent almost £600 million on new players after purchasing the team from Roman Abramovich last year, but despite this, Chelsea is now playing in the bottom half of the Premier League standings and is not participating in any cup events.
After this most recent loss, the owner of Chelsea appeared to be returning to the locker room to speak with the players, as he has done frequently lately.
However, his management of the team is now being questioned more than ever, and the Chelsea veteran is ready to blame Boehly.
"I can't identify my club. The club has changed," Drogba told Canal Plus.
"A new owner and a new vision have been adopted. Naturally, we attempt to contrast that with what transpired during the [Roman] Abramovich era, when numerous players were recruited, but the choices made were quite wise.
They don't have leaders with charisma. You need players that commit to the game and take on their duties. You need a player who injects some craziness into the stadium.
In a statement to BT Sport, former England striker Michael Owen added his voice to the chorus of those criticizing the club's owners. "It's incredible, isn't it, how much of a mistake they made buying so many players and it's going to hit them where it hurts - in the pocket - because now they're going to have to get rid of players," he said.
"They'll have to buy them off because some players won't want to leave. It was a really costly error.
