04 May 2023 , 09:32
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Frank Leboeuf has criticised Todd Boehly and the Chelsea squad for "dirtying the image of the club" after they slumped to their sixth successive defeat against Arsenal on Tuesday.
The Blues fell apart during the first-half at the Emirates Stadium and conceded three times to give themselves a mountain to climb after the interval. Although the second-half response was much more positive with Noni Madueke scoring his first Chelsea goal, it wasn't enough to take anything from the game.
It was a result that left Chelsea in 12th, a mammoth 24 points behind fourth-place Manchester United and the Blues' hopes of a Champions League finish are now mathematically over. Speaking after the match, Leboeuf hammered Frank Lampard's side for their performance against the Gunners.
"Shameful, disgraceful, pitiful," he told the Daily Mail. "I don't know if the players understand what they are doing right now. On top of dirtying the image of the club, they are dirtying their own image. What they are showing is the worst in the world of football.
"You can be bad, everybody can be bad, everyone has been bad - that can happen. But when you show no character, no commitment in what you are trying to do, it shows that you are unprofessional.
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"The players have shown to the world that they don't deserve the Chelsea shirt. I make a difference between club and team. The club is a big club. The team is a shambles, a shame of that club. I wanted to turn off the TV, I was that ashamed."
Chelsea have signed almost £600million worth of talent since Boehly took over from Roman Abramovich a year ago. Despite the influx in money spent, the Blues have not improved. In a brutal assessment, Leboeuf admitted that the Blues have not got any leaders and revealed he is ashamed with the state of the club.
A dejected Cesar Azpilicueta after Chelsea's defeat at Arsenal (Getty Images)"You know Chelsea have no leaders," he added. "You know they all go into the dressing room at half-time and just drop their heads, "Hopefully the coach doesn't talk to me because I don't want to be caught".
"The team I met when I came to Chelsea, with all those leaders, we would never do that. Impossible. We were such leaders, we had so much character, so much pride - it would have never happened. That's why I'm so ashamed, so upset.
"I was amazed by the number of Chelsea fans in the stands. They have so much belief in their club, but they forget the team doesn't deserve to wear the shirt. I'm so upset and so ashamed of what I'm seeing."
Chelsea are next in action when they travel to Bournemouth on Saturday. This is followed by fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle to end the season.