Key players may walk away if Chelsea is sold, Coach admits

Chelsea’s German head coach, Thomas Tuchel (Photo by adam davy / POOL / AFP)

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he fears the sale of club could have an impact on negotiations with players who are out of contract in the summer.

Roman Abramovich confirmed on Wednesday that he is looking to sell the Blues after 19 years in charge – following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A number of key Chelsea players are in the final months of their current deals, including captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Burnley today, Tuchel said the club ‘can’t help it’ if the sale process has a negative effect on contract talks.

In his pre-match press conference, he said: ‘The bottom line is maybe we can’t help it – it is what it is.

“You never know maybe it has a positive effect on the negotiations or maybe it has a negative effect.

“We cannot predict and I would like not to predict on scenarios because you just lose focus, but everyone has a different situation and feels different about it (the sale).

“I hope for the best outcome still, I think we have something to offer still. Chelsea are a strong club and will stay a strong club.

During his press conference, he revealed that a briefing was held on Thursday regarding the sale of the club, which was held by technical and performance advisor Petr Cech – rather than Granovskaia.

Questioned about the managing director, Tuchel responded: ‘I will not comment on speculation about that [Marina’s future]. My communication with Petr and Marina has been excellent from day one.

“Marina is ill at the moment so otherwise she would have been here and briefed everybody.

“There’s no doubt this will stay for next few days, months and weeks and hopefully it