Emma Hayes has dismissed suggestions that her immediate future could lie away from Chelsea after lifting her 13th major trophy with the club on Sunday.
The Blues beat Manchester City 3-2 in the FA Cup final to complete a domestic double and successfully defend the competition for the first time in their history.
Speaking during BBC Sport‘s coverage of the final, former Arsenal and England full-back Alex Scott mused whether Hayes would want to be the manager to rebuild the Chelsea squad over the coming years, or whether she believes she has taken the club as far as she can.
Initially when questioned about her future, Hayes gave an ambiguous answer and shifted the focus onto Ji So-yun, Jonna Andersson and Drew Spence, who are all departing the club in the summer. However, she later clarified that she is under contract at Chelsea and was bemused about where the speculation had come from.
“I think when it comes to my future, you ask me this question every time we win,” Hayes said.
“It’s not like I’m coming in here disrespecting the question, but I think this needs to be about the three players departing rather than my future, for the simple reason being it’s not about me. It’s about Ji, it’s about Jonna, it’s about Drew. Today’s about these three human beings.
“Everyone knows I’ve got a contract at Chelsea, so what’s the speculation about? Is there a job you guys are telling me I’m going for that I don’t know about? As far as I’m concerned I don’t have to kill any speculation: I’m under contract at Chelsea and there’s nothing to talk about.”
A new era at Chelsea will begin in the summer, with Todd Boehly’s consortium set to complete their takeover of the club in May. Hayes met with the incoming owner at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Friday and revealed the pair had a ‘lovely’ couple of hours together.
90min.com