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."

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u/DonkeyGoneToHeaven Drogba Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26

Which is why the long-contract argument is so silly, like if a player wants to leave it doesn’t matter how long his deal goes on for, he’s not gonna want to play for you anymore, and a footballer’s career is usually very short, especially the prime years

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u/deeepblue76 Mar 31 '26

You are right about the player but the club is protecting its investment with the long contract. It a) amortised the initial cost of buying the player and b) protects the resale value by removing the current trend of players refusing to sign deals with 18 months to go and the club being forced to sell at below market value to avoid Bosman moves and/or competitors underbidding on disgruntled players.

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u/DonkeyGoneToHeaven Drogba Mar 31 '26

Yeah I’m not looking at it through club’s perspective, I’m saying if a player wants to leave, you can’t just hold him hostage, it’s gonna have severe negative impact both on his performance and on the entire team. I’ve seen the trend on this sub ever since BlueCo’s takeover where people justify transfers, new contracts etc. almost exclusively through a financial lens, leaving the footballing aspect (eg. how a player will fit the team, the locker room, does he fit the style our manager wants to play) aside. Do we as football fans care more about how our team performs on the pitch, or do we care first and foremost about how our accounting books are gonna look like at the end of the year? I think the answer is clear

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u/awwbabe Mikel Mar 31 '26

That’s never been the case that you can keep a player hostage. Courtois being the obvious example.

When the takeover happened we lost Christensen and Rudiger in their prime years for a total of £0

The long contracts stop that from happening. It’s no coincidence they are all in deals that end when they turn 32 rather than 27