Mauricio Pochettino fires warning to Chelsea owners amid talk of taking over his & Lionel Messi's first club Newell's Old Boys in Argentina

Argentina president Javier Milei recently claimed that the Blues were "willing" to invest in a host of Argentine clubs, including Pochettino's former side Newell's Old Boys, where Lionel Messi started his career. Milei backed the investment into his club Boca Juniors, joking that "if investment groups come to Boca and invest a fortune, and that means Boca always wins and River [Plate, Boca's bitter rivals] are not able to win a single game, the question is ‘where do I sign?’”

But Pochettino urged caution on behalf of his Chelsea owners, hinting that Argentine fans are not accustomed to external investment in the game.

The Chelsea boss told reporters on Friday: "It’s so difficult because Argentina is a country where it is not normally like here, where people arrive from outside and buy clubs. The fans, they feel they belong to the club and the club belongs to them, and it’s not easy to change the mentality. Maybe in time, yes, but at the moment I don’t believe it is going to be easy to buy a club there. But, of course, the president has new ideas and he wants to help the country and the people to have better lives. It’s a difficult situation, but all the Argentines, we are going to support and we are going to do everything to try to help the country, Argentina, to stay in a better situation.”

Pochettino's comments come amid continued hostility among Strasbourg supporters towards Chelsea's owners. Under the consortium BlueCo, Boehly and Co acquired the French club in June 2023 and have loaned young Chelsea stars Angelo Gabriel and Andrey Santos there. Strasbourg fans, though, have opposed the move from the outset. Tensions reached new heights when No.1 goalkeeper and captain Matz Sels was sold to Nottingham Forest on deadline day, with supporters presenting a banner reading: "All our fears about the BlueCo project, confirmed in this transfer window".

Pochettino joined Newell's as a 14-year-old and spent eights years at the Argentine club. He left to sign for Espanyol in 1994, which would be his first role in senior management.

The sternest of tests awaits the Argentine and his Chelsea squad. The Blues travel to reigning champions Manchester City in Saturday's late kick-off, who will be chasing down Liverpool at the top after their match against Brentford earlier in the day.