Chelsea, Man Utd - the tragedy of waste

Ruben Amorim has not brought any improvement to MU.

Over the past decade, English football has witnessed the rise and absolute dominance of Manchester City. But in the opposite direction, Manchester United and Chelsea - two names once considered the standard of power - have gradually turned themselves into symbols of waste and instability.

Since their last Premier League title, they have spent more than 4.37 billion euros together, but the result is a big zero in the most prestigious tournament in the foggy country.

Chelsea: A money-spending machine but powerless in the Premier League

Chelsea entered the 2016/17 season with Antonio Conte and immediately became champions. But that was also the last time “The Blues” touched the Premier League throne. Since then, they have spent more than 2.06 billion euros to constantly patch up the squad, changing coaches like changing clothes, but still struggling with the problem of stability.

The 2021 Champions League title was a rare bright spot in a series of years of instability, but it did not hide the fact that Chelsea had fallen far short of the standards of a domestic title contender. In the summer of 2025, coach Enzo Maresca was given an additional €339 million to rebuild the squad, but weak draws against Crystal Palace, Brentford or defeat to Bayern Munich exposed a reality: huge spending does not mean the ability to compete in the long term.

The Premier League’s impotence is not just a matter of tactics, but also a reflection of a lack of direction at the top. Chelsea can win a few glorious European nights, but cannot maintain their consistency over the entire gruelling 38-game run.

Chelsea may have won the Champions League, but in the Premier League, they are still in decline.

While Chelsea at least has the light of the 2021 Champions League, Manchester United is in a more gloomy situation. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, the "Red Devils" have not won the Premier League once, despite spending nearly 1.78 billion euros on the transfer market.

The FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League triumph in 2017 were only temporary relief for a giant team that was losing its identity. Each managerial reign – from David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim – started with hope, but quickly faded into disappointment.

Amorim was heavily backed with 251 million euros to rebuild this summer. However, his team won just one of their five games and were knocked out of the League Cup by Grimsby Town.

The mistakes that followed left the head coach in a precarious position after only a few months. Behind the huge spending figures was an inability to build a long-term philosophy, and that made Man Utd look more like a “fallen giant” than a real title contender.

When money can't buy a throne

If we look at the data over the last 10 years, the paradox becomes even clearer. Chelsea are 4th and Man Utd 6th in terms of total points in the Premier League, but both have spent more than almost all their rivals.

Tottenham, despite spending 1.24 billion euros less than Chelsea, are still only 8 points behind in the same period. Liverpool and Arsenal, with their disciplined spending strategies, long-term vision and ability to develop players, have left both "big guys with a lot of money" far behind.

MU is stuck in chaos.

Manchester City is the exception, where huge cash flows are combined with a clear management system and philosophy. Man City's six titles in the last 10 years prove one thing: money can buy success, but only if it is spent in the right direction.

Meanwhile, Chelsea and Man Utd’s “cost per point” is consistently at an unusually high level, far above the league average. It is cold evidence that they are spending many times more than they are getting back.

Man Utd can still be proud of their past European glory nights. Chelsea also made the whole continent bow down before their Champions League triumph. But times have changed: the Premier League is the fiercest yardstick, and it is on that front that both have completely failed.

The clash at Old Trafford in the Premier League round 5 at 11:30 p.m. on September 20 is therefore not simply a 3-point match. It is a mirror of the situation of both: giants who once dominated, now struggling to prove that they are still a force.

To escape the shadow of failure, they need more than blockbuster contracts. They need consistency, a clear philosophy and a long-term project - things that money alone cannot buy.

Source: https://znews.vn/chelsea-man-utd-bi-kich-cua-su-lang-phi-post1586894.html