Rosenior says his Chelsea departure had “nothing to do with football”

Liam Rosenior says his departure from Chelsea had “nothing to do with football”. The former manager, now in charge of Paris FC after returning to France, says he does not want to explain in detail yet what happened in England. His comments nevertheless offer his clearest indication that he believes his exit was connected to more than results on the pitch.

Rosenior was sacked after five consecutive Premier League defeats without scoring. The run ended with a 3-0 loss at Brighton, when Chelsea did not register a shot on target. The club’s league record currently stands at five wins, one draw and three defeats in nine matches, with 19 goals scored and 15 conceded. Chelsea are fourth on 16 points and have three wins and two losses across their last five Premier League games.

In an interview with So Foot, Rosenior called his time at Stamford Bridge “the best experience of my life, and the hardest, too”. He added: “It was fantastic, even though it only lasted four months.” Asked what he meant by his comments about tolerance, he acknowledged that he had deliberately avoided a direct answer. “I don’t want to go into details now. I’ll talk about it one day, when the time is right. But in a country where tolerance is an important value, what happened there has nothing to do with football,” he said.

The manager also discussed the response to the positive start of his Chelsea tenure. He said the five-game winning streak at the beginning had worried him most, then argued that good results at Chelsea quickly brought the team into the spotlight and created a “kind of snowball effect” in the media. Rosenior’s note to Alejandro Garnacho during Chelsea’s Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain drew attention, as did his speaking style and touchline manner. He said those things were mocked, along with his clothes, and that he was given the online nickname “LinkedIn Liam”.

Rosenior believes there is a preconceived idea in England of how Premier League managers should behave. “People who know me know that I’m someone who tries to be sincere and authentic,” he said. He also warned that the media and social networks can shape public opinion about a player’s or coach’s quality. Rosenior’s remarks suggest he felt Chelsea’s scrutiny extended beyond results, though he has not clarified what he meant by his reference to tolerance.