Behdad Eghbali was the man behind one major Chelsea departure this summer

Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali was the driving force behind one star leaving the club this summer according to reports.

It was another busy summer for the Blues with several new faces coming through the door, whilst a number of players were moved on to pastures new.

A number of high profile stars were deemed surplus to requirements with Raheem Sterling, Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher all leaving Stamford Bridge either on a temporary or permanent basis.

Eghbali driving force behind Sterling exit

Sterling arrived at Chelsea from Manchester City in a deal worth £50m in 2022 and was billed as a marquee signing in the first window under the new ownership.

The 29-year-old was handed a lucrative contract thought to be worth in excess of £300,000 per week and he simply hasn’t performed to the level many expected.

It’s been believed for a while that Chelsea have wanted to get Sterling’s contract off their books, but not many would have thought it would be this summer given the winger featured prominently in pre-season.

However, after being left out of the match day squad for the opening game against Manchester City, Sterling was quickly informed he was no longer part of Chelsea’s plans.

Raheem Sterling signs for Arsenal on loan.
Sterling completed a deadline day loan move to Arsenal.

The Blues didn’t leave themselves much time to find a solution and with the clock ticking on deadline day a loan move to Arsenal was finalised.

A lot has been made of the broken relationship between Eghbali and Todd Boehly, but talkSPORT have reported that Egbhbali was the driving force behind Sterling’s move to Arsenal.

The report adds that after initial suggestions the wages were being split 50-50, Arsenal are actually thought to be paying just 30% with Eghbali believed to have sanctioned the deal.

Chelsea were never going to get a favourable deal so late in the window with potential suitors knowing they were desperate to move Sterling on, but from a financial perspective it’s not a good deal.

The Blue will hope Sterling does well enough to play himself into the shop window so they can sell him on a permanent basis next summer.

Tags Behdad Eghbali Raheem Sterling
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