Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly met up with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez ahead of the two sides clashing in the Champions League on Wednesday night. It's the third time in as many years that the teams have met in the competition, with the winner of the past two ties going on to win the whole thing, with one victory each.
The Blues are in desperate need of a change in form, sitting 11th in the Premier League after a rocky campaign so far, with Frank Lampard's return as interim boss beginning with a 1-0 defeat at Wolves. With European qualification through the division seeming unlikely, a respite in the Champions League is required if the west London outfit are to win the title a third time.
Boehly was seen ahead of the game with Sky Sports, who managed to get a score prediction from him that may shock some. He said: "Chelsea is going to win 3-0." The American businessman was then pushed further on the game, to which he had a clear message of: "I say have a lot of faith and we are going to win 3-0 tonight."
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It's a bold prediction that the Blues will be hopeful will come true, but relations off the pitch could be part of the bigger picture for the long-term project at the club. Boehly was praised plenty for his conduct over the past two transfer windows, having met with plenty of club representatives before agreeing transfers.
That went further on Wednesday as he met Perez from Real Madrid at a restaurant ahead of the clash, where the pair exchanged gifts. One photo showed the pair pictured as the Los Blancos chief handed over a replica version of the Santiago Bernabeu to Boehly in a box.
It perhaps sets the standards for how relationships between clubs should be upheld off the pitch, despite fierce rivalry on the field. It remains to be seen if things will heat up in all the action between the two sets of players though, with each side looking to make their way into the semi-finals of the competition.
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