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Todd Boehly has opened up on a difficult first summer at Chelsea after taking the reigns as interim sporting director and signing nine players, spending more than £250m in the process
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has made a stunning admission and revealed that he only signed Marc Cucurella because Manchester City "wanted him".
The American billionaire, who headed the Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover in May 2022, found himself chucked into the deep end and at the heart of the club's recruitment team during his first summer at Stamford Bridge.
It represented a significant transfer window for the Blues, following Roman Abramovich's departure and fresh investment after a successful season under Thomas Tuchel.
In the end, Chelsea spent more than £250million on nine players. Wesley Fofana was the club's most expensive recruit in a £70.5m deal from Leicester, while Cucurella was second on that list as they swooped to sign the Spain international for £57m from Brighton.
The Blues beat City in the race for the ex-Getafe man, who ended up struggling in his first season but has since gone on to become a key part of the squad.
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But Boehly, who acted as the club's sporting director in that summer transfer window, has now admitted he only signed Cucurella due to the fact City were interested.
Detailing the difficulties he had following his arrival, he told Sports Illustrated: "Having taken over in the circumstances that we did, basically the whole management team left.
"I was stuck being interim Sporting Director for a summer, having no idea what made a good football player. But knowing that Marc Cucurella, if Man City wanted him, I want him. It was really simple that way."
Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casedei, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Gabriel Slonina and Denis Zakaria were the others to come through the door in a huge but wasteful summer.
Chelsea then ended up sacking Tuchel less a week after the transfer window slammed shut and raided Brighton once again to replace him with Graham Potter.
The structure at Chelsea has changed in dramatic fashion since then, with Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart coming in as co-sporting directors and Boehly moving upstairs.
Despite that change, Chelsea have continued to spend big in the transfer window. Last summer, almost £300m was spent as the Blues looked to strengthen after winning the Conference League and finishing fourth in the Premier League, securing a return to the Champions League in the process.
Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao, Jorrel Hato, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez were the club's permanent arrivals, while Facundo Buonanotte signed on loan.
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