Chelsea have announced the appointment of Liam Rosenior as their new head coach on a 5½-year contract.
Rosenior took over at fellow BlueCo club Strasbourg after spells as head coach at Hull City and Derby County. He was in London this week to complete the move.
The 41-year-old has been Strasbourg head coach since July 2024. He guided the French club to a seventh-place finish in Ligue 1 last season.
He leaves them following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Nice — their fifth league game without a win. They sit seventh in the table and are top of the Conference League.
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Rosenior replaces Enzo Maresca, who departed the club on Jan. 1.
Chelsea, who rescued a 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Sunday after Enzo Fernández‘s stoppage-time equalizer, are fifth in the Premier League.
But a run of just one victory in seven games, and comments from Maresca that hinted at issues behind the scenes, brought an end to the Italian’s 19-month tenure before Sunday’s draw at City which was overseen by under-21s coach Calum McFarlane.
The academy coach has confirmed that he will be in the dugout for Chelsea’s Premier League clash with their west London rivals Fulham on Wednesday.
Liam Rosenior has succeeded Enzo Maresca at Chelsea. Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
“I am extremely humbled and honoured to be appointed Head Coach of Chelsea Football Club. This is a club with a unique spirit and a proud history of winning trophies,” Rosenior said in a statement.
“My job is to protect that identity and create a team that reflects these values in every game we play as we continue winning trophies. To be entrusted with this role means the world to me and I want to thank all involved for the opportunity and faith in undertaking this job. I will give everything to bring the success this club deserves.
“I believe deeply in teamwork, unity, togetherness and working for one another, and those values will be at the heart of everything we do. They will be the foundation of our success.”
Shortly before his move to Chelsea was announced, Rosenior gave a farewell news conference in France on Tuesday morning in which he said he was yet to sign a contract with the Premier League club.
“It looks like I’m going to be the next manager of [Chelsea],” he said.
“I haven’t signed yet, I have agreed verbally with Chelsea. It’s really important, this is different to anything anyone has ever done — nobody has made a statement before they have signed a contract.
“Everything is agreed and it will probably go through in the next few hours. I’m here because I care about this club and I felt it was right to answer your questions physically here today before I move on.”
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Rosenior has also admitted that he had interest from other “Champions League clubs” but said he could not turn down the opportunity to manage Chelsea.
“The last 18 months have been a joy and the best of my professional career. I have met some incredible people and created some incredible memories and made history,” Rosenior said.
“None of that happens without the investment of our ownership and hard work of our president.
“I have had interest from many clubs, including Champions League clubs, which I have always been open with to [our president] Marc [Keller] and our ownership.
“I will love this club for the rest of my life but I cannot turn down Chelsea.”
1:29
Can Liam Rosenior be successful at Chelsea?
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens discuss Liam Rosenior’s potential appointment as Chelsea manager.
Despite his relative inexperience at the highest level, Rosenior is confident that he is ready for the challenge that awaits him at Chelsea.
“Outside of PSG in France, if Chelsea want a coach, that coach will probably take the Chelsea job,” he said.
“I would not have accepted the Chelsea job if I was not ready.
“There are clubs you just cannot turn down. I hope the Strasbourg fans can see that and be proud of that.”
Rosenior ’emotional’ at Strasbourg exit
It is a rarity to see a manager front up for a news conference just as they are about to leave a club, but Rosenior did just that on Tuesday and was sure to speak of his fondness for his soon-to-be former club Strasbourg.
“I am so excited about the future. I have worked my whole life to be a coach and manage a world-class football club,” he said.
“That does bring sadness for what I am leaving behind. This is emotional as it is my last day and time I wake up as a Strasbourg manager. This is football.”
Liam Rosenior spoke to the media in Strasbourg on Tuesday. ROMEO BOETZLE / AFP via Getty Images
Rosenior also confirmed that his backroom staff, including Kalifa Cisse and Justin Walker would be making the move to west London alongside him.
“I would not be in this position without my unbelievable staff,” he added.
“I am leaving a lot of really good people behind. What I do know is that a good group of people are coming in.
“I have never met a person with such emotional intelligence as I have with Kalifa [Cisse]. Sadly for Strasbourg he is coming with me.”
Strasbourg fan group laments ‘another humiliating step’
Strasbourg’s fan base has long been vocal in its opposition to Strasbourg’s position within the BlueCo multiclub ownership model.
BlueCo, a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, purchased Strasbourg in summer 2023 a year after they completed their takeover at Chelsea.
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Strasbourg captain Emmanuel Emegha said he was left “devastated” after his own fans turned on him in a 1-0 league win against Le Havre on Sept. 14 following the announcement that he will join Chelsea in 2026.
Emegha was booed by a section of Strasbourg fans when he received the Player of the Month award before kickoff.
Supporters from the club’s Ultra Boys group displayed a banner at the Stade de la Meinau that read: “Emegha, pawn of BlueCo. After changing shirt, give back your captain’s armband.”
Last weekend’s game against Nice began with the traveling Strasbourg supporters undertaking their customary five-minute silent protest against their owners, with some fans holding “BlueCo Out” signs and a banner that read: ‘non à la multipropriété’ (no to multi-ownership).
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Why Leboeuf has high hopes for Rosenior at Chelsea
Frank Lebouef explains why he’s optimistic that incoming coach Liam Rosenior will prove a good choice to replace Enzo Maresca at Chelsea.
Following the announcement of Rosenior’s move to the Premier League side, a Strasbourg supporters’ group, Fédération Supporters RCS, said in a statement: “The transfer of Liam Rosenior marks another humiliating step in Racing’s subservience to Chelsea. For two and a half years, along with others, we have been trying to raise the alarm about this.
“The problem goes far beyond the mid-season sporting impact and the ambitions of a young coach. It is structural; the future of French club football is at stake.”
