Inside Chelsea’s Camp During Sanctions As Thomas Tuchel Reflects On Adaptation During Tough Period

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed what life was like at the Blues during the club’s period of sanctions last season.

Former owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government back in March, which led to a lot of uncertainty over the short and long-term future of the club.

As a result, Chelsea had spending caps for fixtures both at Stamford Bridge and on the road and club members were not allowed to purchase anymore Premier League home tickets for the rest of the season, nor were fans able to buy merchandise online or at the megastore.

Abramovich soon took the decision to put the Blues up for sale, with Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital eventually winning the race for the club amid a whole host of interested parties.

Chelsea are now set to compete in their first season in their new era, with the previous sanctions being lifted in line with the club being bought by their new owners.

In an interview via the Guardian, Tuchel revealed what life was like at the club during such a period of uncertainty.

He talked about their visit to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup quarter-finals, which took place just over a week after Abramovich was sanctioned.

Tuchel said: “Our whole staff just sitting in the lobby because only the players and myself had the rooms longer – it was a very strange situation for a club used to a kind of level and organisation and support that’s absolutely outstanding normally.

“If you don’t know how you will arrive in a Champions League game, whether you have a plane or don’t have a plane or after you play Newcastle as a long trip and you don’t know if you need to travel by a bus or plane.

“You arrived in some crazy moments but it was absolutely nice to see that we can adapt. We are spoiled but not so spoiled that everyone gets in a bad mood. We’d play cards or watch a match live together and it was nice to see everyone was ready to adapt and do the best.”

Thomas Tuchel during the match against Brentford. (Alamy)

Chelsea have already made a statement signing in their new era, with Raheem Sterling joining from Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

They are also set to bring in Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, who is one of a number of targets for the centre-back positions.

The Blues will kick-off their pre-season schedule with a friendly against Club America on Sunday morning, before facing Charlotte FC and Arsenal during the rest of their United States tour.