When Sonia Bompastor introduced her little one to Serena Williams on Wembley's court, he went to the Chelsea locker room at the 23rd-time Grand Slam tennis champion to celebrate Manchester United's Manchester United manager Marc Skinner was asked about some kind of attention he was absent.
For the second consecutive year, Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been apparently missing in Wembley as his team appeared in the Women's FA Cup final without even the excuse of a men's team hiding behind at the same time. United still have a good representation at Wembley, with CEO Omar Berrada and daily interactions of technical director Jason Wilcox, Skinner, both present.
But Ratcliffe's absence from Wembley's Royal Box contrasts with Chelsea's new headline superstar investors, who crossed the Atlantic to watch the coronation. Williams at Wembery, her husband, Reddit co-founder and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, talked about his new £20 million British champion. "The sky is the limit," Ohanian in BBC. "This is what we're trying to build here, the best team in the world and the forefront of the women's sports. It's going to be a billion-dollar franchise."
Ohanian added that he hopes Chelsea is “unambitious”, reflected by their historical creation manager Bompastor. As the tape fell on the court and squirted with champagne, the raising man and her players had told themselves that they weren't the best in Europe yet. “We missed the Champions League,” Baumasto said. "That's our goal, that's our goal. I want to make sure we all can achieve that and win the Champions League with the club."
Bompastor added that Chelsea “need to make sure we are heading in the right direction in Europe”. But they are already the best in England, only a distance. In the 30 games in the Women's Super League, FA Cup and League Cup, Chelsea won 27 times, scoring three points without losing. Their 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Wembley was not surprising as Chelsea led two points and 16 points at the league table.
The gap will only grow bigger and bigger. Chelsea's sixth straight title was the first time they didn't lose in 22 games. Chelsea are likely to get stronger in the summer, reflecting their move in January, spending more than £1.4m to sign a world record fee for US international defender Naomi Girma, while England's Keira Walsh signed Keira Walsh from Barcelona. However, they beat Barcelona 8-2 in the Women's Champions League semi-finals, which will inspire their next move in the market.
"Everyone is saying 'Maybe Chelsea will escape the England League game, but we are aiming to compete with the best teams in Europe." "So it's a pleasure to have this domestic high, but we want to make sure to compete with the best teams in Europe in the future and hopefully next season."
Chelsea believes that other teams in England should match their ambitions. If the WSL's competitive balance is worrying, it's not Chelsea's fault. Bompastor hopes other clubs do more. “We want to compete in our game, and if you play, you can compete better,” Bompastor said. “We want to make sure we are the top in the league and bring everyone else to us – that’s what we want to achieve. But we need other teams to still invest and be with us.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United will enter the UEFA Champions League qualifier next season. Skinner admits that unless they join the roster, they will have a hard time competing on multiple fronts. Manchester City found that this season has caused several injuries to key players during critical periods. Arsenal, who entered the Champions League final, could not maintain the title. Skinner said Chelsea’s depth is key to their hunger and consistency, with multiple internationals competing for each position.
"We're not going to spend millions of dollars," Skinner said. "You look at the winter windows at Chelsea and it tells you differently. We can't wait (build). We have to do that now. I have to try to do that. I've been calling the players, agents. We have to move the needles. Otherwise, we're going to fail. Otherwise, Chelsea will have that depth. If we want to succeed, but we can do it better, it can make it easier for me.
The billionaire's co-owner has been calculating his billionaire co-owner by cutting costs, but has been missing since taking over at Old Trafford. "Honestly, I don't know why Jim isn't here," Skinner said. "But we're really representative. Omar is there, we have the Glazer family and Jason. They're the people who need to see us so they can see what we need to do to close the growing financial gap at Chelsea."
The sight of Williams and Ohanian at Wembley was filled with a passion for raising people. "They are here to show support," she said. "From the beginning, they will feel the right mindset in Chelsea."
This is not just what Bompastor sees, but what it means. Ratcliffe also casts an image, just like what happens on the court.
"The reality is, what needs to happen is the investment of the team, and as long as our team invests, do you see you?" Skinner said.
“We still need to close that gap.”