Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly reportedly hiked up a transfer offer by £2million just to avoid settling on the number 13. The American billionaire and Clearlake Capital have been splashing the cash since taking over from Roman Abramovich in 2022.
And there is little evidence of Chelsea's new owners watching the pennies in that time. They spent frivolously on the likes of Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Raheem Sterling during their first summer transfer window, and more extravagant purchases were made the following January.
According to ESPN, Boehly contacted an agent during his first summer to enquire about the possibility of signing his player who, at the time, was bound for a different Premier League club for around £12m.
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Instead of one-upping the rival suitors by increasing the bid to £13m, Boehly jumped straight to £14m in order to avoid his 'unlucky' number. It is unclear which was the player involved in the saga, or whether Chelsea ever signed them, but Cesare Casadei and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were both brought to Stamford Bridge within that price range during that window.
The logic-defying move from Boehly reportedly saw Chelsea's peers form a 'negative view' of the new owners, who are yet to earn the trust of fans after two disappointing seasons.
The first campaign, overseen by managers Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard, saw Chelsea finish in the bottom half of the Premier League despite their wild ambition in the transfer market.
Last season, with Mauricio Pochettino at the helm, Chelsea improved to sixth before parting ways with the manager. Enzo Maresca is now in charge and he has headed into the international break with a win, a draw and a defeat in his first three league games.
The Blues' rampant transfer spending continued over the summer, creating a group so oversized that Maresca was forced to exile between 15 and 20 players to a 'bomb squad' of stars permitted to leave the club.
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Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah and Kepa Arrizabalaga were among those to seal temporary moves away late in the summer. But Ben Chilwell is still on Chelsea's books despite Maresca making it clear that he will not play in the first team.
A move to Turkey is reportedly being explored, with their transfer window open for almost two more weeks. David Datro Fofana has also been linked with a move elsewhere, while Maresca publicly suggested that Carney Chukwuemeka would struggle for game time unless he moved on.
