Chelsea owner Todd Boehly believes his predecessors cost the club more than £100m thanks to their past decisions, according to an intermediary who worked on one of their summer exits.
The Blues have spent around £270m on new signings this summer, with Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana among the more expensive recruits. Deadline day moves for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and loanee Denis Zakaria ensured the London side were the Premier League's biggest summer spenders, with only a fraction of the total outlay recovered through player sales.
However, Boehly is said to believe the previous regime - during the time when Roman Abramovich was owner and Marina Granovskaia worked on transfers - have had a part to play by allowing key players to leave. And Saif Rubie, who was spotted speaking to the owner during Saturday's victory over West Ham United, has shed some more light on the situation.
