Marina Granovskaia breaks silence on Chelsea exit with Roman Abramovich amid Didier Drogba praise

Marina Granovskaia has admitted that she was 'sad' to leave Chelsea at the time she did as the Todd Boehly era got underway.

Granovskaia's departure was confirmed at the end of June. Chelsea and Boehly have yet to confirm a replacement but it Is understood that former Liverpool director Michael Edwards is the red hot favourite to become her successor if the new owners can convince him to do a U-turn on his break preference. Boehly has since acted as interim sporting director and it's safe to say that he has got his teeth stuck right in with Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella expected to be part of a summer overhaul which is forecasted to reach the £300m levels.

It's important to note that Granovskaia wasn't the only one to step down this summer. Bruce Buck and Petr Cech did the same. The difference being that only the Russian and Buck have decided to stay on temporarily as advisors if Boehly needs to use them between now and September 1. Granovskaia isn't known for much public speaking but an email released bydemonstrated the hard decision she had to make at the time when her future was decided.

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The email read: 'Apologies for the delay in getting back to you, it has been a very intense week. Thank you for reaching out and for the very kind message, it really means a lot. I am obviously very sad to be leaving the Club that has been a huge part of my life for the past 20 years but I am taking with me the great moments we all shared together and wonderful people I met along the way. Once again, thank you for writing, I am genuinely grateful. Kind regards, Marina.'

A heartwarming message which Didier Drogba has