Didier Drogba has claimed that he "does not recognise his club", the legendary forward criticising the owners of Chelsea.
The Ivorian, alongside current caretaker manager Frank Lampard, are two of the greatest players in the club's history, winning silverware with regularity.
That includes the 2012 Champions League, but Chelsea will be absent from European football's table for at least one campaign having bowed out at the quarter-final stage to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
The Blues also sit in 11th position in the Premier League table, 10 points adrift of seventh place, and it is highly likely that Chelsea will be left to focus on domestic football for 2023-24.
A consortium led by Todd Boehly has spent in excess of £600m across two transfer windows since taking over from Roman Abramovich, who was forced to sell due to his links with Russia president Vladimir Putin.
© Reuters
However, Chelsea have regressed to such an extent where their immediate focus must be on balancing the books in order to meet the Premier League's FFP regulations.
Speaking to 'Champions Club' on Canal Plus, Drogba has slammed the decisions that have been made by Boehly and co, suggesting that they were opposite to the "very intelligent" calls of Abramovich.
Drogba said: "I don't recognise my club. It's no longer the same club. There is a new owner and a new vision. Of course, we try to compare it with what happened during the (Roman) Abramovich era where a lot of players were brought in, but the decisions were very intelligent.
"Bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Hernan Crespo, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was done to win titles. They are players with a certain experience. The strategy is now different; we bet on young players. But a dressing room of over 30 players is difficult for a manager.
© Reuters
"They lack charismatic leaders. You need players that take on the game, that assume their responsibilities. You need a player that brings a bit of madness to the stadium."
Thiago Silva has joined Drogba in criticising Boehly and fellow club officials, stating that they have made "an incorrect step" and must reconsider their strategy.
While Chelsea produced an encouraging performance against Real on Tuesday, they again missed chances, extending their current streak to just one goal in six matches.
At a time when Chelsea have recently announced £121m losses for the period before their extravagant splurge on new players, a new centre forward must be signed in order to boost their efforts in the final third.
