Chelsea will continue its restructuring of Stamford Bridge's backroom operations, after the club announced the departure of their head of communications and public relations Steve Atkins.
Atkins is leaving Chelsea after 14 years to join McLaren Racing, the most recent departure following the takeover by Todd Boehly and Clearlake.
Chelsea are said to be in talks with Manchester City group director of corporate affairs Toby Craig to fill the significant void left by Atkins, who has been a key figure at Stamford Bridge since joining under Roman Abramovich in 2008.
Chelsea said in a statement that Atkins “will continue to act as a senior advisor to the club and support the transition over the next few months.”
Since Boehly and Clearlake took over Chelsea, there has been a significant change behind the scenes.
Along with the resignations of Chairman Bruce Buck, Technical and Performance Advisor Petr Cech, and Director Marina Granovskaia, Tom Glick has been named President of Business to manage day-to-day operations. Glick served as Man City’s chief operational and commercial officer, and he has appointed former City employees to key positions at Chelsea.
A Chelsea statement said:
❌ Chelsea communications chief Steve Atkins is leaving for McLaren Racing. ℹ️ As the club’s official spokesman, he has spoken on behalf of the ownership group, club board, head coaches, players and all employees, and helped shape and deliver Chelsea’s strategic messaging in close collaboration with the club board. 🗣 Todd Boehly: "On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Steve for his 14 years of dedication to Chelsea. We have greatly valued his advice and counsel and will continue to leverage his experience and knowledge over the next few months. We wish him every success in his new senior role at McLaren Racing." (CFC)
