Chelsea Owner Sends Xabi Alonso Message After Sunderland Defeat

Chelsea co-owner José Feliciano has backed new manager Xabi Alonso following the club’s recent Premier League defeat away to Sunderland.

The Blues currently sit fifth in the Premier League after 10 matches and are just two points off fourth-placed Liverpool.

Alonso’s side have enjoyed victories over second-placed Brighton as well as Manchester United in recent weeks, but two league defeats against Tottenham and Sunderland, alongside a League Cup exit to Liverpool in the space of three weeks, have slightly dampened the mood among supporters.

Feliciano, who co-owns Chelsea alongside business partner Behdad Eghbali through Clearlake Capital, has recently been speaking to Bloomberg and has offered his backing to the Spanish boss.

He said: “We just had a tough weekend but there’s always the next weekend, we’re extremely excited about the team on the field, we’re very excited about our manager. But it’s the Premier League, anything can happen at any single weekend.”

Clearlake took majority control of Chelsea in May 2022 following the sale of the club by Roman Abramovich. A consortium alongside Todd Boehly, Mark Walter, Jonathan Goldstein and Hansjörg Wyss formed BlueCo.

Reports emerged in September 2024 that Boehly and Eghbali had disagreed over how the club was being run, and the noise surrounding the situation never seemed to disappear.

In September 2026, it was confirmed that Boehly would step down as chairman of the west London side, while both Walter and Goldstein would also step down from the board. All three would have no further involvement in the day-to-day running of the club.

Clearlake went from majority control to full control, with Wyss remaining an important stakeholder at the club.

Feliciano was also asked by Bloomberg whether the changes at board level would impact the running of the club. He responded: “I think in some respects, not much is going to change, in Chelsea we have an amazing club, that’s been around for many many years and we are just stewards of that club.”

The Blues have finished inside the Champions League places just once since the 2022/23 season, whilst winning both the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup under six permanent coaches.

It is understood that the ambition is for Chelsea to compete in the Champions League and regularly compete for both domestic and European trophies.

As the January transfer window approaches, the Blues have been linked with Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and reportedly had at least two offers rejected by the Cherries over the summer. In recent weeks, according to talkSPORT, the south coast side have altered their stance on the possibility of a potential sale. Whether Alonso’s side make a move remains to be seen.

Following the international break, the London side host Leeds United at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea then travel to the Midlands to take on Nottingham Forest, before the festive schedule takes centre stage in December, putting the squad to the test.

Alonso has the backing of the ownership and sits in an ideal position in the table, but the focus will now be on pushing upwards and closing the gap at the top of the Premier League.