‘The DNA is gone’ — Chelsea legend slams Boehly, other club owners for taking ‘heart’ out of football

Chelsea might be on course to finish in the UEFA Champions League qualifying places for the first time under Blue Co., but off the pitch, the storm continues to swirl.

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This time, club legend Ruud Gullit did not hold back when it came to how he feels about the club’s new owners.

Ruud Gullit, a former Chelsea player and manager, didn’t mince words after recounting a recent encounter with club co-owner Todd Boehly.

According to Gullit, Boehly had no idea who he was, despite his historic contributions to Chelsea both on and off the pitch.

Speaking on the Overlap Podcast, Gullit said, “I met the Chelsea owner, Todd Boehly. Introduced myself — ‘Hi, I’m Ruud Gullit.’ Todd said, ‘What do you do?’.

“I said, ‘Well, I played football, also played and coached for Chelsea.’ He said, ‘Oh yeah? When did you play? What did you do for Chelsea?’ He didn’t know…”

The former Dutch international used the experience to drive home his point about how detached modern ownership is from club identity, adding, “This is what it is now. They don’t know what the club is all about… the DNA is gone”.

His concerns extend beyond Chelsea, pointing fingers at other clubs, saying, “Clubs nowadays are run more as a business than by heart, for some reason they just don’t get it. It feels as if the heart is out of the Football Club. Milan, Rome, Chelsea, Man United.”

Despite Chelsea spending extravagantly under Boehly’s regime, the club’s footballing results have been anything but consistent, and many, including Gullit, believe it is down to the lack of culture and DNA left in the team.