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Football

14th Mar 2022

Jamie Carragher slams ‘hypocritical’ Chelsea fans following Tuchel comments

Daniel Brown

‘It’s a little bit hypocritical of Chelsea supporters’

Jamie Carragher has accused some Chelsea fans of being ‘hypocritical’ after he received backlash for suggesting Manchester United should make an approach for Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel’s future at Stamford Bridge is uncertain after the UK government sanctioned club owner Roman Abramovich in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Former Liverpool defender Carragher urged the Red Devils to make a move for the German coach, describing Tuchel as “one of the best managers in world football.”

The 44-year-old revealed that had been criticised by some Chelsea supporters for encouraging United to take ‘advantage’ of the uncertainty at the London club.

However, he hit back at those fans and insisted that the Blues have operated in the same manner ever since Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, he said: “It’s fair to say I had a few heated discussions at Stamford Bridge yesterday [Sunday] and the Chelsea supporters, the same as any set of supporters, are very passionate about their club, and at this moment, feel like the world is attacking them, and they’re defending their club.

“I wouldn’t change my opinion on it, and the reason why I think its a little bit hypocritical of Chelsea supporters is because, if teams, whether that’s Manchester United thinking they can get their manager, or people thinking they can get Chelsea players, they’re going to take advantage of the situation, Chelsea have been doing that for 20 years.

“That was the big thing of Roman Abramovich coming, ‘we can throw our money about and we can get who we want’.

“‘We’re going to go to Manchester United, they’re a money making machine and we want to become that, we’ll go and get their CEO Peter Kenyon, we’ll go to Liverpool and get the best midfielder in Europe and destabilise that club for two summers’, didn’t get him, ‘we’ll get Ashley Cole, invincible, won everything at Arsenal, yeah, we’ll go and get him’.

“‘We’ll get caught tapping-up, doesn’t matter, we’ll pay the fine.’

“England flying at the time with Sven-Göran Eriksson, ‘England manager? No, we want him as Chelsea manager, don’t worry what he’s doing with England, we’ll have him and we’ll pay the fine don’t worry’.”

He added: “They win the FA Youth Cup every year or they get in the final, not because they have the best coaches or the best academy, because they basically go and take the best players from every club in this country and relocate the family and give the dad a scouting job.

“Chelsea Football Club have taken advantage of every other club in the last 20 years because of Roman Abramovich. So if I’ve got an opinion of someone taking advantage of them… that’s just a fact, it’s a way of life. And that’s the way it may be for Chelsea, they have to accept that.

“Some of the things with Chelsea, in terms of closing the club shop and stopping kids getting Mason Mount on the back of their shirt, I don’t agree with that. And I certainly don’t want Chelsea to go to the wall, I don’t want that at all.

“But if that’s my opinion on it, I certainly don’t want Chelsea fans next time I go there questioning my opinion, because that’s exactly what Chelsea have done for 20 years.”

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