Jamie Carragher has sparked controversy among Chelsea fans after a heated debate with fellow pundit Micah Richards ahead of their Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening.
The former Liverpool defender had recently come under fire for branding Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri “brain-dead” during his co-commentary duties on Sky Sports for the Clarets’ late defeat against the Reds over the weekend.
The former Manchester United midfielder gave a penalty away in the dying moments with a preventable handball, handing Liverpool the three points despite a terrific and resilient Burnley performance.
And now Blues fans have taken umbrage with Carragher’s comments on CBSSportsGolazo in which he described their recent Club World Cup triumph as a “Micky Mouse trophy” while slamming Todd Boehly’s three-year tenure at Stamford Bridge for a lack of progress, despite the £2billion spent on transfers.
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“We can't pretend that this has been a success so far after three-and-a-half years,” Carragher said on CBS.
“They [Boehly] came into a club, and the manager was Thomas Tuchel, he'd won the Champions League at that club. At that stage under Thomas Tuchel, Manchester City and Liverpool were possibly the best two teams in world football, alongside Real Madrid, so it was very difficult for anybody to win the Premier League, but Chelsea were the third-best team. It wasn't Manchester United, it wasn't Arsenal, it was Chelsea.
Jamie Carragher has sparked controversy among Chelsea fans after a heated debate with fellow pundit Micah Richards ahead of their Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening
|CBSSPORTSGOLAZO
“They then change that manager, they then take a team who were very close to competing and winning trophies, like they did the Champions League, and they go and spend £2billion.
“They are no closer; they are further away than what that manager was doing three-and-a-half years ago in terms of competing with the top teams in the Premier League. They are further away, having spent £2billion.”
Jamie Carragher claimed Chelsea are 'further away' to winning the Premier League than they were when Todd Boehly took over three years ago
|REUTERS
Since Boehly's takeover from Roman Abramovich in May 2022, the Blues have spent £540m, £400m, £240m and £275m on transfers in consecutive seasons, but only found themselves qualifying for the Champions League last season - the first time in the American's tenure.
However, during this period the club have also brought in almost £800m in revenue from transfer sales.
Fellow pundit Micah Richards took a different perspective from Carragher. He felt that the progress had been evident, given the fact that they finished 12th in Boehly’s first season.
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“But there's been progress, hasn't there?” he questioned. “If you finish in the league in his first season, 12th, and then you finish sixth, and then you finish fourth, and then you win the Club World Cup.
“We're talking about where they are now, yes, he has spent a lot of money, but there has been progress. They beat the best team in Europe, PSG, they did ever so well. I'm not saying Chelsea are going to win the Premier League, but you can see progress.”
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Carragher reminded Richards that in recent years Chelsea have been a “winning machine”, to which the former Manchester City defender cited Manchester United as a similar example, but a team not making progress.
“You mention a way of doing it,” Richards continued. “At this moment in time, Man City and Arsenal and Liverpool have got a better squad than Chelsea. You talk about doing something, you're insinuating that they're doing something wrong.
“I think it's very clever the way that Chelsea have done their business. I don't think their squad is as good - I'm talking about in the Premier League, I think they could buy more quality rather than quantity. But Joao Pedro has been a good signing, Gittens did well at Dortmund.
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Micah Richards disagreed with Jamie Carragher and believes Chelsea have been making progress in recent years
|CBSSPORTSGOLAZO
“And if you're looking at what they're trying to do, they're trying to buy young players. Man City have waited too long before they can sell anyone, Chelsea are very good at selling on an asset, because they buy them young, they've still got value and look at the fees: [for example, Noni] Madueke, £48.8m.”
A defiant Carragher questioned whether Chelsea were aiming to win trophies or transfer players and make profits; Richards reminded him that Enzo Maresca’s side won two pieces of silverware last year.
“A Micky Mouse trophy…” Carragher replied.
Chelsea begin their #UCL campaign off the back of a Club World Cup win 🏆@Carra23 and @MicahRichards get into a heated debate about Todd Boehly's tenure as owner 🔥 pic.twitter.com/K2gt6k7rir
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 17, 2025
Richards demanded: “The Club World Cup? They've just beaten PSG, European Champions!”
Carragher retorted: “You've just said they haven't got a squad better than the other teams in the Premier League. How is that possible when you've spent £2 billion on a squad?”
The intense debate caused furious outrage from Chelsea fans online.
“Get Carragher off TV he’s a biased joke,” one fan demanded.
Another wrote: “Carragher is an all time clown, calling the CWC a Mickey Mouse trophy when his club couldn’t even qualify.”
A third added: “Carragher should never be allowed to speak on Chelsea again.”
Chelsea currently sit in fifth after their unbeaten start to the Premier League season. They started their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 defeat against Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich however, after the England striker bagged a brace to put the Blues to the sword.
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