'45 players? This is nonsense for me'

On the latest episode of the BBC's Planet Premier League podcast, former Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit spoke about Chelsea's large first-team squad.

The former France international said: "Competition to earn your place in the first XI is very important for the ambition of the team and the players. But if you get so many players, 45 players, this is nonsense for me.

"Stability is very difficult to get in the dressing room before going on the pitch. The relationship between the players won't be the same because nobody knows who is going to play the next game.

"So when you work with a huge group like that, it's a lot of trouble for the manager and the staff and the players. You don't have the same link between the players.

"I'm going to ask a simple question: who is going to win titles in football nowadays? It's clubs that are working with stability on the bench but also in the group. Big clubs are working like this and they get rewards at the end of the season for that.

"Clubs with the philosophy of Chelsea, actually they don't get anything because they don't have any stability."

Listen to the full episode here on BBC Sounds