Marc Cucurella has criticised Chelsea's youth-centric transfer policy in a bombshell interview while on international duty with Spain. The Spanish left-back, a leading voice in the Chelsea dressing room, expressed his frustration over the club's direction under the BlueCo consortium, which has focused on signing young players with high potential and market value since 2022.
Cucurella pointed to Chelsea's 8-2 aggregate defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League as evidence of the squad's lack of experience. 'We lacked experience,' he told The Athletic. 'For a lot of players, it was the first time playing a match of that calibre, and we paid the price.' He noted that with five minutes left in the first leg, the score was 3-2, but poor decision-making led to a collapse.
The defender also criticised the club's policy of signing young players at the expense of winning now. 'You are fighting and training every day only to realise, at the very end, that when games matter, we are still a bit away from the top level,' he said. 'I understand this is part of the club's policy... But for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged.'
Cucurella acknowledged the need for a balance between youth and experience. 'We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players might only complicate achieving those goals,' he added. Chelsea have won only the Conference League and Club World Cup since BlueCo's takeover.
