‘Envy isn’t a good quality’ - Potter bites back at ‘what a waste of money’ chants aimed in Chelsea’s direction after £600m spend

• Blues have invested heavily on fresh faces
• Summer and January spending sprees
• Yet to add consistency to their game

WHAT HAPPENED? The Blues have, following a takeover of the club back in the spring of 2022, been splashing the cash across the last two transfer windows. After going big last summer, with Todd Boehly and Co. now calling the shots, more of the same was delivered in January 2023. Chelsea smashed the British transfer record when acquiring Enzo Fernandez for £106.8 million ($131m), while the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Benoit Badiashile were also snapped up in big-money deals.

WHAT THEY SAID: Fulham fans took great delight in serenading the Chelsea squad with “what a waste of money chants” during a 0-0 derby draw at Stamford Bridge, while Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are among the Premier League managers to have asked questions of how the Blues can invest so heavily. Potter has responded by saying: “We’ve spent the money we’ve spent. The media aren’t going to let that go under the radar. All of football will be singing that song, that’s for sure. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. There’s free speech, which is good. I don’t worry about that.

“Envy isn’t a good quality to have. I’ve never been envious of anybody. I’ve tried to work and do the best I can in the circumstances I have. You’re best to compare to yourself rather than somebody else because you don’t know the context or the situation. I also understand that’s the world we’re in, and that’s fine by me.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The summer of 2022 saw Chelsea splash out over £250m ($301m) on the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with their total spend for the season said to have passed the £600m ($723m) mark.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Chelsea are yet to see much of a return on that investment, with Potter’s side sat ninth in the Premier League table – 10 points adrift of the top four – while also finding themselves out of both domestic cups and facing a tough test against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League.