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Former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas believes the Blues have lost 'one of the greatest CEOs' in Marina Granovskaia amid her departure in the summer.
The Portuguese man joined the club as manager in 2011 but only lasted just under nine months in the job, and was replaced by club legend Roberto Di Matteo.
He soon went on to join London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, before going onto the likes of Zenit St Petersburg, Shanghai SIPG and Marseille.
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Over a decade has passed since he was in charge at Chelsea, and Villas-Boas has now spoken on his time at the club.
One of the people he discussed in an interview with The Telegraph was former director Granovskaia.
The 47-year-old had been on the board at the Blues since 2013, but left her role at the club early on in the summer as one of many staff changes at Chelsea following the arrival of their new ownership.
Villas-Boas highly praised the businesswoman, saying: “Marina evolved to one of the greatest CEOs at that time (at Chelsea).
“I am nothing compared to what she has achieved.”
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The manager’s time at the Blues was limited, despite his impressive achievements at Porto before he made the move to Stamford Bridge.
He has now made an honest admission on his time at the west London side, who went on to win the Champions League and FA Cup after his departure.
“Chelsea was something that happens to a lot of people who have been through there,” said the 44-year-old.
“Sometimes you get lucky, you win a trophy and at least you leave a mark. I wasn’t that lucky.”
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He also added: “We thought that we wouldn’t need as many changes as we predicted when we planned to start, OK? So that was a managerial mistake.”
Chelsea are now on their seventh permanent manager since Villas-Boas left the club, with Graham Potter recently taking over from Thomas Tuchel.
They are also under new ownership, with Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital making a number of changes at the club over the last few weeks and months.
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The Blues spent over £250 million in the summer transfer window, the most out of any side in the Premier League.
However, they could be set to spend more in January as they look to strengthen their squad even further.
Chelsea are also thought to be keen on a move for Jude Bellingham next summer and could be willing to offer Borussia Dortmund a ‘very preferable’ deal.
Topics: Chelsea, Marina Granovskaia
Robert Calcutt