Le Havre director, Mathieu Bodmer has criticised Chelsea and their board for their conduct over the failed transfer of Malang Sarr to the French club last month.

According to Bodmer, despite reaching an agreement with Le Havre and Sarr for the defender to move to the Ligue One club in January, the Chelsea board surprisingly went back on their word, and ended up blocking the move.

“What they did to him was disgraceful,” Bodmer said in a chat with Paris Normandie.

“They are the directors of the club with six English league titles, now owned by the American Todd Boehly. With just a few details still to be worked out, they did a U-turn.

“They gave the youngster the go-ahead to travel, and a financial agreement had been reached for the eighteen months of his remaining contract at Chelsea.

“However, on several occasions, they went back on their agreement, and then gave it again.

“And once the player had agreed to make a big effort, to come to us on a tiny salary, just to play football, they blocked him.

“Everything was OK, the contract had even been submitted to the League (LFP), but we never received Chelsea’s cancellation.

“In the end, they just told him he wouldn’t be leaving and they didn’t even answer the phone any more.”

Sarr has struggled to secure regular first-team football since he moved to Chelsea from Nice on a free transfer in 2020, and was on loan with AS Monaco for the entirety of last season.