Why Petr Cech left Chelsea as silence broken of Todd Boehly exit ahead of Crystal Palace

Eyebrows were raised in June 2022 when Petr Cech left Chelsea for the second time. On this occasion, it was from his more understated position as technical and performance advisor — a role that remained just as vague publicly as the title — but the tumult around his exit has continued long into the present.

Cech quickly became the third high-profile figure to leave Chelsea in the first month of the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership — finalised in May 2022 — after fellow directors Bruce Buck and Marina Granovskaia left. Boehly became the chair of the club, replacing Buck,as well as acting as the interim sporting director in what became a much-mocked role in a horrorshow first summer.

Buck and Granovskaia were both let go after the departure of Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned earlier in the year by the UK government following his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin amid the invasion of Ukraine. The owners had hoped Cech would remain at the club.

Cech formed as a consultant and executive at the club and was consulted on most footballing decisions at Chelsea under the oligarch. He was hired in 2019, the same summer that Frank Lampard returned to manage the club for the first time.

The former goalkeeper's most memorable incident was addressing fans in person in the mass of bodies outside Stamford Bridge on the day of the European Super League announcement in 2021. Cech, as he acted as a player, was a go-between for key facts of the club, acting with emotional sensitivity, care, and intelligence.

For many, his exit under the new owners has come to symbolise something much greater. The consortium that bought the club nearly two years ago continued to oversee a clear out any remaining hint of the