A former Chelsea star has appeared to brand the club a circus on the back of their 3-1 defeat by Manchester City, having seemingly been snubbed by his former side.
The Blues’ difficult run of form continued on Saturday as they went down against the defending Premier League champions, putting their Champions League qualification hopes into doubt as they slipped out of the top five.
After an impressive start to the season which saw some brand them title contenders, Enzo Maresca’s men have won just once in their last seven matches and were second best at the Etihad too.
Having taken the lead early on through Noni Madueke, Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden all netted to give City, who themselves are starting to hit form again, the win.
Meanwhile, on social media, an ex-Chelsea player, who played for the club between 2017 and 2022, appeared to criticise the club as they shared a message to their 590,000 followers.
It was Danny Drinkwater who was the player in question, who sat in the City end at the Etihad to watch the game before taking aim at his former side.
Former Chelsea star Danny Drinkwater has appeared to brand the club a circus on social media
The ex-midfielder explained why he was sat in the home end for Chelsea’s trip to Man City
He played for the Blues between 2017 and 2022 but made just 23 times during that period
‘For the Chelsea fan wondering why I’m in the City end…’ he began. ‘I asked the club for tickets!?!
‘I didn’t receive any,’ he continued, accompanied by a circus emoji and an eye rolling emoji.
Drinkwater joined the Blues in 2017 after winning the Premier League with Leicester, signing a five-year deal in a £35million move that is remembered as one of the worst transfers in Premier League history.
In his first season with the club, he played 22 games, but, under Maurizio Sarri, he featured just once the following year before joining Burnley on loan.
He also played for Aston Villa, Kasimpasa in Turkey and Reading before the now-34-yer-old was released by Chelsea in 2022 and he then retired in October 2023. In total, he played 23 times for the London club.
Drinkwater has been open on his off-field issues while at Chelsea. In April 2019, he smashed his £125,000 Range Rover into a wall while over the limit, injuring two passengers and earning a 20-month driving ban.
He told The High Performance Podcast in October 2023: ‘That was a massive wake-up sign for me. I was in the cell for 23 hours sobering up and I’m in this cell thinking, ‘What the f*** are you doing mate’. That’s when I started seeking outside help with it all.’
He also used boozy nights out to find solace. ‘I was trying to enjoy that side of life as a kind of cover for everything else,’ he said.
Drinkwater had initially shared a snap of the scoreboard when his former side were leading 1-0
Before joining the Blues for £23million, he was a Premier League winner with Leicester
Enzo Maresca’s side, meanwhile, have just one win in their last seven top-flight matches
On his Instagram account, his three pinned photos are all from his time at Chelsea, with the first when his move was confirmed eight years ago.
Another is a photo of him alongside Claudio Raneiri, Eden Hazard and Ngolo Kante, while the third is him drinking a bottle of water while in a Blues kit.
He posted two Instagram stories from the game, with the first a video of the scoreboard when Chelsea were 1-0 up, accompanied by a series of eye emojis.
The second, however, appeared to hit out at the club, after he was questioned by fans on why he was in the home end.
