Christoph Freund has confirmed his intention to turn down the offer from Chelsea to become their new director of football with the 45-year-old set to stay put with Red Bull Salzburg.
Chelsea had zeroed in on Freund as their new sporting director choice which was a role that the new co-owner Todd Boehly had worked on an interim basis during the summer window.
Freund, however, appears to have handed the setback to his suitors with the Salzburg executive committing his future to the Austrian top flight outfit in a statement released on Tuesday, as quoted by a report from football.london.
“As I have already confirmed in interviews, Chelsea FC was interested in me.
“When such a big club asks, it not only honors me and the work of FC Red Bull Salzburg, it is of course also a circumstance that entails personal considerations. But I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m in the best of hands with FC Red Bull Salzburg and that a change is out of the question for me.
“We’re in the middle of a very intense phase and have important tasks to do in the Bundesliga, Cup and Champions League – that’s what my focus and concentration are all on.”
Boehly’s hunt for a new sporting director to take charge at the Bridge has been underway since Marina Granovskaia left the club in the summer following the change in ownership.
Granovskaia had been responsible for some of the biggest transfer deals at Chelsea during the Roman Abramovich era with the likes of Romelu Lukaku and N’Golo Kante arriving on her watch.
