How did Chelsea lead the trend of the times by winning the championship, strengthening and making profits?

"They (Chelsea) are in a completely different world, and they can do something we cannot do off the court." - Marco Silva

[Extreme operation is jaw-dropping, "no money" can improve the lineup]

328 million euros are invested to introduce 9 players, and 23 players are sold to earn 332 million euros. Chelsea is not only the Premier League team with the largest personnel changes in this summer window, but also one of the few teams in the league that can strengthen the lineup and achieve profitability. They have completed such miracles for the second consecutive year. In the summer window of 2024, Chelsea's recruitment expenditure was 239 million euros, and the sales of players earned 198 million euros. The net investment of 40.5 million euros was less than 2/3 of the Premier League teams. Maresca relied on this team to complete the mission of winning the Premier League for the fourth place and the UEFA Europa League. The Club World Cup journey even won them more than 100 million US dollars.

Since the change of the senior management, Chelsea's investment in signings has exceeded 1.5 billion euros, and more than 50 players have settled in Stamford Bridge. In order to avoid PSR rules, Chelsea has always insisted on using long-term contracts to attract young talents. Players with outstanding strength will naturally stand out in the competition. Players who cannot stand in the giants can also cash out at high positions. The team continues to gain fresh blood, the lineup continues to upgrade, and the benign development model has gradually been established.

[Professional people do professional things, "joint director" controls the overall situation]

In recent years, with the influx of famous mainland coaches and stars, the competition in the Premier League has become increasingly fierce. The situation where Big6 monopolizes the qualification for European wars has been broken by teams such as Newcastle, Aston Villa, Brighton and Crystal Palace. In this process, Manchester United and Tottenham have experienced the pain of class decline, and Chelsea's record has also fluctuated. The team building model supported by "feelings" in the Abu era is unsustainable. Qinghu Capital relies on the experience accumulated while playing in North American sports to find a path for sustainable development for the club.

The members of the "Joint Director" group formed by Qinghu Capital are from Brighton, Southampton, Manchester City and other teams - these are clubs with "advanced" scouting system.

In the summer window of 2022, Burlei dominated the first transfer window after the Blues changed flag, and introduced many famous players such as Sterling, Aubameyang, and Kulibaly. The actual combat effect was not ideal. Qinghu Capital quickly took over the work and formed a "joint director" signing team supported by Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart core, Shields and Kyle Macaulay. These strategic experts who have served as sports directors and senior scouts, have solid business knowledge and broad connections. They are very familiar with club operation management, echelon construction and transfer negotiation skills. They can not only seize talents in the vast scout reports, but also provide highly professional operations and suggestions to senior management.

Under the leadership of Paul Winstanley and others, the Blues built a huge first-team lineup. In the final stage of last season, Chelsea scored a wave of 17 games and 15 wins, winning the top four Premier League, the European Union Championship and the Club World Cup. The lineup depth advantage was fully revealed, which opened the eyes of many giants who are still sticking to the "small lineup".

João Pedro "divine weapons descended from the sky" in the Club World Cup, which laid the groundwork for Chelsea's signings in the future winter window.

At the end of the 2024 summer window, Chelsea's 53-player "four-layer bus" was compressed to 29, and it still maintained this scale this season. During Maresca's leadership of the club World Cup, Paul Winstanley and Sam Jewell used their relationship in Brighton to strongly promote Joao Pedro's transfer. After joining, the latter scored 3 goals in the semi-finals and finals, earning back the transfer fee in just two games. This is one of the classic examples of the "co-director" model. Considering the difficulty of the Champions League and the revenue situation this summer, Chelsea has the ability to continue to buy big in the winter window. The story of Joao Pedro in the Club World Cup is expected to repeat in the Champions League knockout stage.

Since the summer window of 2023, the Blues uniforms have begun to give many young players who have just started their careers. Palmer and others have even received a ten-year contract. This extreme operation meets the existing profit and sustainability rules (PSR) requirements of the Premier League. In order to avoid the risk of "unfinished" in the later stage of a large contract, the "co-director" will take advantage of the age advantage of substitutes to find their next home when their value begins to decline. Petrovic, Chukuemeca, Ugoshuku, Broa, Vega, Duesbury Hall and others did not have many opportunities to play last season, but left more than 150 million euros for their old clubs. The uniforms' shipment ability is amazing. After Chelsea won the Club World Cup championship, four executives won new contracts that lasted until the summer of 2031. They not only have to continue to escort the Blues, but also have to spend some energy to build the "satellite team" Strasbourg. Compared with the taxi strategy of the Abu era, the satellite team model is obviously easier to control. It can not only serve as a buffer for the lineup to lose weight, but also be more conducive to the growth of young players. Andre Santos is a typical example of "returning from school". Mamadu Saar, who was once highly anticipated, also saw hope of going to Ligue 1 to participate in the Champions League.

[Guardiola's disciples are at the helm, winning the championship and nurturing talent]

In order to cooperate with the club's outward-oriented business strategy, Qinghu Capital attaches great importance to the coach's educational ability when selecting coaches. Brighton of the Porter era covered the expenses of building and renovating the stadium by selling players alone. Pochettino trained 6 England internationals and led Tottenham to the Champions League final stage. Maresca was able to exchange for invitations from giants with his thin resume, thanks to the halo of Guardiola's disciples.. Just like the "Apennines Guardiola" Sarri invited by Abu back then, Chelsea in the US-funded era also had the "ambit" to pursue trends and wealth.

From slimming down on the "four-layer bus" of up to 53 people, to forming a new lineup, from establishing competitive style and rotation principles, to leading the team out of the dilemma of multi-line combat, from completing the perfect ending of the league and the Europa League, to drawing a perfect tactical blueprint on the final stage of the Club World Cup, to helping many players improve their value, Maresca delivered a satisfactory answer in her first season, demonstrating her ability to be out of her own, and Qinghu Capital's strategic vision has been verified.

[The conflict between the big guys eases, the Blues enters a new era]

During the Christmas-New Year schedule last season, Chelsea's record showed major ups and downs, and no one believed that Maresca could succeed at the end of the season. The main players were not adapted to the sudden increase in game load. Jackson's injury caused Palmer to fall into a slump. Maresca adjusted his tactics in time and rebuilt the offensive system around Enzo Fernandez, helping Colville make great progress and gradually lead the team out of the predicament.

When Chelsea encountered trouble on the court, the conflict between the senior Blues' executives was also exposed by the media. From forming a "joint director" signing team, to Pochettino's stay or leave, to planning the construction of a new stadium, Burley and Egbali (a decision-maker of Qinghu Capital) have had many differences on major issues. In addition to the business level, the strategic goals of the two bigwigs are also different. Burleigh hopes to hold Chelsea for a long time, while Egbali believes that it should be sold and cashed out as soon as possible. Both have tried to acquire each other's equity to complete the full control of the club.

Thankfully, as Chelsea got out of the dilemma late last season and then achieved great success in the Club World Cup, rumors about the inconsistency between Burleigh and Egbaly disappeared. With the collective renewal of the "co-directors" as a sign, Chelsea senior executives have unified their thinking. The big buy and big sale in the summer window reflects their determination. This team with strong financial resources and avant-garde business philosophy will launch an impact on the top of the Premier League and the Champions League in the new season.