Chelsea co -owner Todd Boehly has opened himself about the controversial transfer strategy of the club – after having spent more than £ 1.2 billion since 2022.
The American businessman, 51, became the target of fan protests prior to the 4-0 victory of the Blues on Southampton earlier this week.
Boehly came out to defend his leadership during an appearance on the FT Business of Football Summit on Thursday.
The owner of La Dodgers took the protests directly and claimed: “Criticism is simply par for the course.
“The sooner you learn that you don't keep all people happy that freedom brings.”
Boehly's regime has seen enormous expenses, with £ 1.2 billion issued to more than 40 players.
Chelsea has also handed out contracts of up to ten years to countless stars, including Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Boehly defended the strategy and insisted: “Strikers are hard to find. You can't get it out of the supermarket.
“It's great skills and you have to have a fantastic mentality.
“The most misunderstood thing is that we think about it, measured in years, not months.
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“You have to think in both the short and long term. We are aimed at a combination of both and are looking for the best possible way to implement that. It is a balancing act to find out.
“You must have a plan and exercise, accept that things are not linear and that the thing that matters is that the trend is in the right direction.”
Boehly admits that his first trip came to English football with a “learning curve”.
Chelsea has finished 12th and 6th in the Premier League for the past two seasons and failure to lift a trophy.
They saw up to set up a title challenge for Christmas, only for their shape to lose weight in the past two months.
He continued: “We have been here for less than three years and that has been a dazzling Derwish of activity. Nothing is a straight line, ever and sport is so humiliating.
“If you look at contracts in football, a seven -year contract is really a five -year contract.
“The reality that 95 percent of the time must make a decision by that time or you shoot yourself in the foot.
“At that time you agree with an extension with the player or that greener meadows are for both parties.
'If you deny that you are fooling yourself.
“We felt that the longer contracts meant that we could abolish, but it was also about how we put together a team with the opportunity to stay together.
“Teams that have been dynasties over the years had superstar captains that could lead. But how do you find that superstar captains?
“And in football the market is clear in several countries – so you think of France, Germany, Brazil, Latin -America – actually everywhere all over the world.”
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