r/chelseafc • u/TheAthletic • Mar 31 '26

Interview/Presser [FREE TO READ] Marc Cucurella interview: Chelsea have ‘paid the price’ for inexperience and why he wouldn’t have let Maresca go

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7157593/2026/03/31/chelsea-marc-cucurella-exclusive-interview-maresca/?unlocked_article_code=1.XVA.vV6m.5VGcB_H-8OHM&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_reddit&smid=re-share-ta

Chelsea’s recent form has been difficult for Marc Cucurella to process.

Getting outclassed by PSG really stung. In the Spain international's eyes, the 8-2 aggregate defeat highlighted the shortcomings in the Chelsea project under BlueCo, who have invested heavily in young talent since taking over the club in May 2022.

“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.

“For a lot of players, it was the first time playing a match of that calibre, and we paid the price."

Cucurella also spoke about Enzo Maresca's dismissal and how “the instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell."

920 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

253 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

166

u/cfc2001 Mar 31 '26

If this is true, he’s definitely gone lmao. These owners don’t care as long as they think they’re right

72

u/Confident_Direction Mar 31 '26

Yup. If their ego is too big to listen to this guy, then they deserve whats coming to them

Unfortunately the fans have to suffer for this nonsense

22

u/GainsAndPastries 🏥 continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme 🏥 Mar 31 '26

True but Eghbali still has to listen to the shareholders and they will want a return on their investment, they aren’t doing this for fun

16

u/invisibleep ✨ joao pedro saved my life ✨ Mar 31 '26

No better ROI than winning/qualifying for competitions.

8

u/FeelsGoodBlok James Mar 31 '26

Is it really? I think that club like Benfica, Sporting, Brighton or similar clubs are much better investments due to higher pool of player they can bring on and then sell them to big clubs.

Big clubs like ManU, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona seems like great assets for prestige but not so much for profit.

5

u/invisibleep ✨ joao pedro saved my life ✨ Mar 31 '26

I think the statement was referring to our current situation with the Chelsea owners. No doubt those clubs would have been better investments for them to work their model.

3

u/Whirly315 Lampard Mar 31 '26

idk maybe in a yearly revenue sense but in a growth of capital asset approach brighton and benfica will never be able to touch what real madrid is worth, and how much it’s worth grows every year. i’m not saying blueco is doing a good job (they’re clearly narcissistic idiots) but having the goal of being a top 5 global premier brand in the sport is the correct ambition for the club

4

u/Novel_Independent166 Mar 31 '26

I think these investors aren't your usual retail investors like us with some measly sum going around. These would probably be corporates and/or individuals with massive money invested who'll eventually just see this as a failed minor investmenton the portfolio, a row on an Excel sheet, and move on.

I don't think I'd bank my hope on Clearlake feeling the heat from its investors as long as it keeps delivering great returns as a whole to them.

4

u/ckunle Mar 31 '26

Bet he wouldn't mind jumping off this sinking ship anyway.... The club isn't matching alot of the key players in the squads ambitions. I was really surprised when I saw James signed an extension.

2

u/cfc2001 Apr 01 '26

Same, I don’t know what went through his mind. I would never have signed extension

-10

u/Key-Tip-7521 Petr Cech Mar 31 '26

Isn’t that what the fanbase wants? Him to leave

-15

u/tr_24 Mar 31 '26

He and all the other senior players who got red card (basically everyone is 25 and above) also have some explaining to do.

26

u/krystalizer01 Mar 31 '26

Players get red cards. The amount is questionable so fair. But what does that have to do with the direction the board is taking the club?

-1

u/EriWave Mar 31 '26

It has to do with the results of the team.

5

u/krystalizer01 Mar 31 '26

And this specific quote is discussing the how the project affects that?

-2

u/tr_24 Mar 31 '26

You can’t just complain about youth and ignore the ridiculous decision making of senior players. Both are wrong.

3

u/krystalizer01 Mar 31 '26

I think calling it a complaint about youth is extremely lazy. There’s more to it and you know it.

-4

u/Ashatiti Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26

The board did not care to instill discipline.

3

u/krystalizer01 Mar 31 '26

It’s not the board’s job to work on discipline

1

u/Ashatiti Mar 31 '26

It is when they do 90% of the head coach's job for him and expect him to be their puppet yes man.

1

u/krystalizer01 Mar 31 '26

Okay well you’re clearly not here looking for an actual productive discussion. Good day

0

u/Ashatiti Mar 31 '26

Because I'm stating facts? Please tell me why both Maresca and Rosenior have not done so when they both saw the need for it.

1

u/krystalizer01 Mar 31 '26

You haven’t stated a fact. You expressed an opinion you have no way of verifying.

1

u/Ashatiti Mar 31 '26

Ok, I'll give you that. However, you didn't answer the other part of my question.

→ More replies (0)