Enzo Maresca: I do not fear sack in Chelsea owners’ feud

Clearlake insist they have the capital ready for a full takeover while Boehly is confident he can secure financial backing to buy them out

Enzo Maresca has insisted he is not worried that he could become a casualty of the fall-out between co-owners Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly.
Clearlake, headed by Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano, and Boehly want to buy each other’s Chelsea shares with Boehly believing the working relationship between the co-owners has reached breaking point.
Both sides want a fast resolution with Clearlake insisting they already have the capital ready to secure a full takeover and Boehly confident he can secure the financial backing to buy the shares of Clearlake, who are adamant they will not sell.
It is claimed that Boehly retains the full backing and support of Chelsea’s other shareholders, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss, although the pair have not responded to inquiries on their positions from Telegraph Sport over the past week.
Clearlake own the majority 61.5 per cent stake of “Class A senior shares”, while Boehly, Walter and Wyss own an equal split of 38.5 per cent “Class B junior shares”. That means Boehly and Co have agreed to take the first loss if things go wrong, but are still guaranteed the same rate of return as Clearlake on selling shares.
The departure of former head coach Mauricio Pochettino is believed to have been one of a series of disagreements between Boehly, Eghbali and Feliciano, with Boehly understood to have been in favour of keeping the Argentine on.
Boehly, however, was overruled and Maresca was appointed as Pochettino’s successor during the summer.
Asked if he is concerned whether a change in the current ownership structure could impact his Chelsea future, Maresca said: “No. I’m not concerned or worried about this because I don’t know what’s going to happen. Second, in case something happens, I don’t know…it’s too many things. The main focus for me is just on the pitch.”
Maresca had joked at the start of his press conference ahead of Saturday night’s trip to Bournemouth that he would leave the room if he was asked about the owners.
Boehly, Eghbali and Feliciano have not spoken on the subject in public, but Maresca said he had no problem with the trio remaining silent – even if it means he will have to keep answering questions on it.
“I speak always, so I don’t have a problem to speak about everything,” said Maresca. “But, in any case, I think they [the owners] know exactly what they have to do. If they think they have to talk then they are going to talk, otherwise they are not going to talk. But I don’t have any problems to answer questions.”
Maresca repeated on a couple of occasions that his full focus and attention will remain on football, with the head coach wanting to get the best out of summer signings Jadon Sancho and Joao Felix.
Both players fell out with their former clubs, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid, but Maresca said: “Listen, we have Jadon, Joao, these kinds of players. Before they joined the club, I had a chat with them, and one of my messages to them was ‘if you come here and don’t work properly then you are not going to play’.
“Before they arrived, the message for them was clear. For Jadon. For Joao. But [I told them] the reason why I’m speaking to you is because I really like you. If you come here in the way that we want, we are happy. But if you come here and don’t work hard, it’s better if you don’t come.”
Asked how Sancho responded, Maresca added: “He’s here!”