"It’s not easy to change the mentality" - Mauricio Pochettino sends warning to Chelsea owners as they look to buy third club
Mauricio Pochettino has warned Chelsea owners ahead of their planned decision to add an Argentine club to their multi-club system.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital operate the BlueCo multi-club system, which currently owns Chelsea and French club Strasbourg.
Several reports have indicated that the Blues' owners are keen on adding more clubs to their already-existing BlueCo teams.
They are reportedly looking at the South American market, with Boca Juniors and Lionel Messi's boyhood club, Newell's Old Boys, among the potential options.
Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Pochettino has said that BlueCo could face an even stiffer reaction from Argentine club fans than they have faced with Blues and Strasbourg supporters since taking ownership of both clubs.
Speaking ahead of his club's PL game against Manchester City, who themselves own the City football group, Pochettino said via The Sun:
"It’s so difficult because Argentina is a country where it is not normally like here, where people arrive from outside and buy clubs. The fans, they feel they belong to the club and the club belongs to them, and it’s not easy to change the mentality."
Pochettino continued:
"Maybe in time, yes, but at the moment I don’t believe it is going to be easy to buy a club there. But, of course, the president has new ideas and he wants to help the country and the people to have better lives."
It will be interesting to see if Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital will succeed in adding an Argentine club to their already existing BlueCo multi-club system.
Pundit predicts easy win for Manchester City against Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium
Football pundit Mark Lawrence has tipped Pep Guardiola's men to come out victorious against Pochettino's Chelsea on Saturday, February 17.
The two sides will face each other for the second time in the Premier League this season, having previously played out a thrilling 4-4 draw in November last year.
Ahead of the crunch clash at the Etihad Stadium, Lawrence has predicted a 2-0 win for the home side, stressing that they have looked more solid heading into the encounter.
He said (via Paddypower):
"Chelsea were abysmal in the first half against Crystal Palace on Monday and they obviously changed something around which was clever from Mauricio Pochettino’s point of view."
He continued:
"They won comfortably in the end. I watched Manchester City play Copenhagen in the Champions League the other night and they could have had six, seven or eight so they’re in great form. I fancy City to win this one."