Mauricio Pochettino drops double Instagram clue as Gary Neville slams Todd Boehly
Lionel Messi transfer mission
Todd Boehly has the perfect chance to complete Roman Abramovich’s failed mission this summer and finally bring Lionel Messi to Chelsea. The Argentina World Cup winner looks set to leave Paris Saint-Germain when his contract expires at the end of the season which will see him become a free agent.
Barcelona are favourites to sign the 35-year-old just two years after he left the Camp Nou. Former Blues owner Roman Abramovich almost made the biggest signing of all, as Messi was on the brink of swapping Catalonia for west London. After an astonishing 41 goals across all competitions in the 2013/14 season, Messi became frustrated with Spanish authorities after he was caught in a tax fraud probe, and the Argentina international was tempted by a new life in London under Jose Mourinho, according to Gianluca Di Marzio .
The transfer insider stated that Chelsea were close to signing Messi when he was in his prime, and it was almost a FaceTime call that sealed the deal for the former Barcelona star.
Pochettino clue
Mauricio Pochettino continues to be very active on social media as Chelsea edge closer to making a decision regarding the vacant manager position at Stamford Bridge. Sources have told football.london that there is still nothing to report regarding an imminent agreement between the Blues and Pochettino – despite a number of positive talks between the two parties.
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali had met with other Chelsea figures in Los Angeles last week with the hope of coming to a final decision on who to appoint as Graham Potter’s successor. Julian Nagelsmann had been the leading candidate for the job before he pulled out of the race due to concerns about the Blues’ recruitment strategy. Pochettino is understood to be the leading candidate to take the hot seat at Stamford Bridge – but he has set a number of demands when holding talks with Chelsea.
The 51-year-old would like to bring his own coaching staff with him to the club, if appointed, including assistant Jesus Perez, first-team coach Miguel D’Agostino, goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano, his son, who works as a sports scientist.
Gary Neville launches into
scathing Chelsea rant Gary Neville has laid the blame for all of Chelsea’s mess at the feet of Todd Boehly after Frank Lampard’s side suffered a sixth-straight defeat in all competitions. The interim boss is yet to pick up a point since coming in as a placeholder until the end of the season. Their latest reverse, a 3-1 loss to Arsenal, left them stranded in the bottom half and still not mathematically safe from relegation with five fixtures left and three of the top four still to play.
Although dropping down a division is near enough impossible given the results needed , the very conversation being had sums up the state of the season. For Neville, it has been a car crash from day one and Boehly is all to blame. Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast on Wednesday night, he launched into a passionate accusation of the US-based businessman. “It all comes from the owners, this,” he started.
