Rio Ferdinand becomes second person to hear same thing about Chelsea stars ‘getting emails’

Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott have both heard about Chelsea players being told they're surplus to requirements via email.

The Blues' transfer activity continues to be a hot topic of discussion under Todd Boehly's rule. Academy graduates Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah were each banned from training with the first team in pre-season as the club look to benefit from the Profit and Sustainability Rules surrounding the sales of homegrown talents.

Another controversy arose when Raheem Sterling was omitted from the matchday squad to face Manchester City yesterday, prompting a statement from his camp seeking clarity on his situation. The fiasco was discussed by Manchester United legend Ferdinand on his Rio Presents podcast, where he was joined by Lescott and ex-Chelsea midfielder and coach Jody Morris.

"I'm hearing they're getting told by email and stuff like that. This is wild, I'm telling you, it's mad," he claimed, with Lescott admitting: "I'm hearing that too." Ferdinand continued: "Imagine hearing that on email bruv, 'like listen bro, today is not your day'."

Lescott suggested Stamford Bridge chiefs would be far better off treating their transfer listed players with respect, because they'd be more inclined to work with them as a result. He explained: "You're going to ask a player to leave, and there's obviously years on their contracts, you want to leave in good faith.

"Because then players are OK with the circumstances and may leave a bit on the table in order to go somewhere else. But if you treat me like a piece of s***, I'm not gonna do you any favours, am I?"

Morris pointed out the knock-on effect the approach will have in the years to come for Chelsea. He said: "It filters through the group. Even in the academy when I was coaching, we were taught the way you release a player, or the way you are looking after him once he's maybe no longer need at Chelsea, can be a lot of the time how you acquire players in the future.

"That player will go on and talk about his experience of how the club treated them, the parents speak to other parents. It was a huge thing in the academy, and [with] Neil Bath particularly."

Ferdinand then added: "And he's gone, Neil Bath's gone." Bath stepped down from his role as Director of Football Development and Operations over the summer after 30 years with the club, having only been promoted a year before.

Ferdinand and Lescott aren't the only ones to be receiving rumblings out of Chelsea. Alan Shearer has revealed he's heard Sterling was told last Friday he'd "probably be best off looking for a club elsewhere" before the August 30 transfer window deadline.