Former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has described a "backstabbing culture" within the club during and after his time there, speaking about perceived betrayals by his successor Roberto Di Matteo and confrontations with players like Ashley Cole and John Terry.
Villas-Boas, 48, managed Chelsea for eight months from June 2011 to February 2012. His tenure was marked by struggles in the Premier League and a significant Champions League defeat to Napoli, which led to the club's board losing faith.
His assistant, Roberto Di Matteo, subsequently took over and guided Chelsea to a Champions League victory in the same season, though they finished sixth in the league. Villas-Boas expressed disappointment that Di Matteo accepted the role without his prior knowledge, stating he was the one who had brought Di Matteo in as his assistant. "For me, it was very very difficult to see Roberto take the job. It was something I felt dearly because I was the one who chose him," Villas-Boas said on the Obi One Podcast. He noted that Chelsea's hierarchy, specifically Marina Granovskaia and Roman Abramovich, had favored a different candidate but ultimately appointed Di Matteo based on his football style at West Brom.
Villas-Boas also addressed a story previously shared by former Chelsea captain John Terry regarding seating arrangements on a pre-season trip in 2011. Terry had claimed that Villas-Boas's decision to place academy players in first-class seats over senior stars like himself, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba created immediate friction.
"We only had a few free in first class, we couldn't fit all the first team players," Villas-Boas explained, countering that the decision was about principle and avoiding selection issues among top players. He suggested that instead of putting all the senior players in first class, academy boys were seated there, and the rest went to business class. He stated he did not recall Terry approaching him with concerns at the time and maintained the incident had zero influence on the team's pre-season performance, noting, "I see it completely different, John sees it the other way round."
Terry, however, had been adamant that the move was a failed attempt by Villas-Boas to assert authority, stating, "He came in and he failed instantly, because I promise you the plane wasn't going. If it was going, it would have gone without myself, Frank and Didier."
Villas-Boas also recounted a clash with Ashley Cole during a "crisis meeting" before the Napoli game. When asked for reflections, Cole reportedly questioned his tactical positioning, asking why his attacking runs were limited to midfield. Villas-Boas stated he told Cole that he was attempting to "make a fool out of me in front of everyone," which he could not accept, resulting in Cole being dropped from the team. The manager noted the unusual circumstances, including an immediate injury to Bosingwa, who had been shifted to left-back to replace Cole.
Villas-Boas attributed the eventual Champions League success to the players and Di Matteo, asserting that his own role was limited to signing players in the summer, rather than contributing to the on-field triumph.