Ex-Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas believes his former side have lost 'one of the greatest CEOs' after Todd Boehly's decision which saw Marina Granovskaia leave.
Boehly's consortium finalised their takeover of the Blues earlier this year, ending Roman Abramovich's 19-year stint as Chelsea owner. Since the American owner took charge there has been a wave of change to the Blues' hierarchy with the likes of Petr Cech and Granovskaia both departing the club, with the Blues now looking for a new director of football and chief executive.
Christoph Freund was tipped to become the new director of football at Stamford Bridge, but talks fell through despite there being a verbal agreement between Freund and the Blues, football.london understands. Boehly has already sacked his first manager at the club with Thomas Tuchel being replaced by Graham Potter and Villas-Boas has discussed the role Granovskaia played at Stamford Bridge.
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The 47-year-old was a key member of the Blues' board since 2013 and played a vital role in some of the best signings at Stamford Bridge over the past nine years. Granovskaia 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.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Villas-Boas said: “Marina evolved to one of the greatest CEOs at that time (at Chelsea). I am nothing compared to what she has achieved.”
The Portuguese manager was unsuccessful during his tenure as Blues boss after arriving from FC Porto. “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.”
He 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.”
Villas-Boas clearly feels that Granovskaia stabilised the club off the field and was a key factor in their successes in the past nine years. Boehly endured a hectic first summer transfer window that would have no doubt been hampered by Granovskaia's departure, with Chelsea having been linked with a number of players throughout the window and spending over £250million, more than any other Premier League club.
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