Football London
Everywhere you looked there seemed to be Chelsea representation on Monday night’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Sure the outcome of the Men’s award was painfully predictable, the snubbing of Edouard Mendy for PSG’s backup goalkeeper also puzzling and none of the Chelsea trio of Pernille Harder, Jessie Fleming or Fran Kirby managed to get into the Women’s top five.
But the number of Chelsea faces across the Men’s and Women’s team, the level of coaching of Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes recognised, plus the award for “Club of The Year” in 2021 going to the Blues; this was a night to be proud.
2021 has been an overwhelmingly positive year for Chelsea on the pitch.
The Men’s team captured a second UEFA Champions League crown in May, followed by the first UEFA Super Cup trophy since the late nineties.
Currently sitting top of the Premier League ahead of domestic rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, only losing two of their 21 competitive games so far this season.
You track that back to the end of January since Tuchel’s appointment and it only accounts for five, reflecting the transformation of the squad since he arrived.
The Women’s team secured consecutive WSL league titles over an amazing Manchester City team. Winning the League Cup and reaching the final of the FA Cup which takes place this coming Sunday against Arsenal.
An extraordinary run to the club’s first Champions League final ended in a humbling 4-0 defeat to an irresistible Barcelona team who were deserved winners but gave an incredibly talented squad under Hayes a strong platform to build from in the coming years.
On the Men’s side, it felt timely that Roman Abramovich was in attendance for his first Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge since 2018 via The Telegraph.
Abramovich witnessed the Blues frustrating 1-1 draw against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, but a result that kept his club top of the league heading into December.
Abramovich’s troubles since the removal of his Tier 1 Investor Visa in 2018 led to a feeling of distance from Chelsea. The halt to the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge plus the FIFA-imposed transfer ban all cast doubt on the standing of a club that had regularly been competing for Europe’s biggest prizes.
Since the beginning of 2020 though the script has flipped completely.
Chelsea spent a reported £218m from January to September 2020 where the club bought in the likes of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy – according to transfermarkt…
