Chelsea: Liam Rosenior's side at risk of continuing downward spiral after Champions League exit with qualification for next season in jeopardy

Last summer, they were champions of the world. Now, they are out of Europe and at risk of not even qualifying for the Champions League.

The problems piling up at Chelsea are impossible to ignore - both on the pitch and off it.

On the pitch, Chelsea aren't delivering where some would have expected them to be after their Club World Cup triumph. Clearly, there were issues behind the scenes between Enzo Maresca and the club's hierarchy, but in his last 10 games he had a record of three wins, three draws and four defeats.

They replaced Maresca with Liam Rosenior after his success with sister club Strasbourg. In his last 10 games, he has won four, lost four and drawn two. A better win percentage, yes, but when you consider that two of his wins came against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup and another against Wolves, who are at the foot of the Premier League, it's not great reading.

Couple that with the fact that he is winless at home over that stretch. Defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle are one thing. But dropping points to Leeds, who are fighting for survival, and Burnley, who are destined to go down, is not a good look.

That's not all Rosenior's fault. The recruitment had been questionable long before he arrived. For every Cole Palmer or Joao Pedro, there is Alejandro Garnacho or Liam Delap. Rosenior can only play the hand he is dealt by Chelsea's many sporting directors. There is also a discipline issue that has marred the club all season too.

What Rosenior can control is team selection and tactics - both of which can be questioned. Rosenior has ripped up his tactics at the break when he has seen it isn't working. It helped to recover wins from losing positions against West Ham and Napoli, but the half-time tweak against PSG did nothing to blunt their threat. It's good to have a plan B - but the number of times Rosenior's plan A misfires is a concern.

Off the pitch, there are more issues. Chelsea's line-ups have been leaked to the media on several occasions - including ahead of PSG's visit, before which Rosenior vowed the leaks would stop. That adds to the overriding issues with discipline at the club.

And there is the small matter of the suspended one-year transfer ban handed down by the Premier League this week for secret payments made under Roman Abramovich.

It was revealed in February that the club had recorded the biggest annual loss ever made by an English side, according to figures released by UEFA.

Chelsea's record loss was for a season when they won the Conference League and qualified for the Champions League.

Two months after the end of the 2024/25 season, they also earned up to £90m by winning the expanded Club World Cup in the United States.

In the old days, any losses would have been subsidised by Abramovich - but he was forced to sell the club and the regulatory landscape has totally changed from the early years of the Russian billionaire's ownership.

Chelsea's big problem - apart from the fact they have not won a major trophy under their new owners - is that their revenues lag behind those of their major rivals.

Chelsea's owners are facing challenges on multiple fronts. In the short term, their priority has to be qualifying for the Champions League.

Participation in Europe's elite competition is more important now than ever - even though Chelsea are convinced their finances are improving.

Chelsea made plenty of headlines during the early days of the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital era by handing out incredibly long contracts. Currently, 23 players are under contract until 2030 or later.

While that brings a risk for those who don't make the impact some would hope for, it does put Chelsea in a strong position. Should a team come in for one of their stars, the answer is simple. We don't want to sell and have no need to.

That being said, if the Blues miss out on the Champions League, key players who have been at Chelsea for several years could be excused for getting itchy feet. We've already seen reports of Cole Palmer being homesick and wanting to return up north, with Manchester United interested.