Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich rarely addressed the squad but Joe Cole recalls an occasion where he ripped into the players after a Champions League exit
Roman Abramovich rarely spoke to the Chelsea players – but once made his feelings clear(Image: Getty Images)
Joe Cole has recalled the only time he heard Roman Abramovich get the Chelsea players together as he asked them whether they “were top players, or just players on top salaries” in the wake of a Champions League loss.
The Russian billionaire bought the Blues in 2003 and the ex-West Ham star was the first signing of his initial summer spend. He played at the west Londoners for seven years and only remembers one time where the owner gathered the squad, where he would read them the riot act.
Abramovich had shown how ruthless he could be with the way in which he ploughed through managers at Stamford Bridge. But after losing to Inter Milan, then led by Jose Mourinho, in Europe in 2010 the Russian made his anger known.
The Chelsea squad was full of players who were being well paid and, after they saw another Champions League opportunity pass them by, Abramovich wanted to issue a reality check.
Cole said in his new autobiography, Luxury Player, which appeared in the Telegraph: “Roman was a rare presence in the lives of his Chelsea players. We would see him briefly after games.
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“He gathered us together once in 2010, after we lost in the Champions League to Inter Milan, by then managed by José Mourinho, to ask us pointedly whether we were top players, or just players on top salaries. That was the only time in seven years I saw him speak to us as a collective squad. It was also the only time I saw him angry.”
Abramovich is thought to have bought Chelsea after being presented for a Champions League classic between Real Madrid and Manchester United in 2003. It was after that which he sought to buy a Premier League side and becoming European champions was always his ultimate.
Chelsea were dumped out of the Champions League by Inter Milan in 2010 – leading to a reality check from their owner
In 2010 Chelsea had yet to conquer the continent – but would do so in 2012 and 2021. Abramovich was the owner of the Blues’ for both triumphs and Cole has confessed that the oligarch was happy to walk into a room and saying nothing despite his stature and influence.
“He was a man who felt quite comfortable walking into a room and saying nothing at all,” said the ex-player. “Maybe he just liked to see how people reacted. I can’t say that’s my style. Roman didn’t waste words. He didn’t bother with small talk. He only engaged if he was genuinely interested.”
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