Conor Gallagher speaks out after 'nasty, grubby and utterly classless' treatment by Chelsea

Conor Gallagher joined Atletico Madrid at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium this Summer, following Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca's decision to ostracize the England midfielder, deciding he was no longer part of his plans.

Now, nearly a month on from his forced move away from Stamford Bridge, Gallagher has spoken out about his treatment by Chelsea. When asked by The Metro if he thought Maresca didn't trust him due to a lack of technical skill, he replied, “don’t think that’s true personally,” adding his performances last year proved he was good enough to perform at a top club.

For Gallagher, part of his move away from his boyhood club was the lack of a long-term future guaranteed to him. As he told The Metro, “Chelsea make their own decisions and they’ve brought in some top players on long contracts. That wasn’t the situation with me”.

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The England midfielder saw the writing on the wall, claiming, “I opened up my options and looked at the bigger picture. It excited me as soon as I knew Atletico Madrid were interested.”

Gallagher's treatment has perhaps gone under the radar, given Chelsea's manic Summer of spending and wheeling and dealing. Let's take a look at how the relationship broke down between Chelsea and Gallagher.

Former Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher, who joined the club as a nine-year-old, has been at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, with his treatment being branded as “humiliating” by The Daily Mail’s Ian Herbert.

Chelsea agreed to £35m (€41m/$45m) for Gallagher, which was roughly the same price being argued for Samu Omorodion's move to Stamford Bridge, according to BBC Sport.

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However, for reasons that are yet to be made clear, Chelsea backed out of the Omorodion deal at the last minute.

In exchange for Gallagher, Chelsea signed Joao Felix on a permanent deal, with the West London club rumored to have spent £55m (€64m/$71) to bring the Portuguese attack back to the club, having previously spent time on loan at Chelsea.

The Daily Mail reported on the strained relationship between Enzo Maresca and Conor Gallagher, which led to Gallagher returning to London to train with Chelsea's U21s ahead of his anticipated move to Atletico Madrid. Once Felix finalised his move to Chelsea, Gallagher was free to move in the other direction.

Ian Herbert, writing for The Daily Mail, described Gallagher’s treatment by Chelsea as, “nasty, grubby and utterly classless,” in a brutal rant about Chelsea’s lack of respect for one of their own.

As Herbert points out, Todd Boehly and the rest of the Clearlake ownership group saw Gallagher not as a player who has represented the club for the best part of two decades, but as an asset whose sale would generate instant profit for a club intent of spending every penny they can.

Herbert also points out that Chelsea pressured Gallagher into accepting a move away from his boyhood club by refusing to let him train with the first team if he didn’t comply. This action could be considered “abusive behavior” under Article 14 (2) of the FIFA regulations.

Nevertheless, it seems both sides ultimately agreed that parting ways was the best option. Will Gallagher become the new unspoken hero of the Civitas Metropolitano?

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