Breaking: rated texts of Chelsea commercial director leaked two weeks into contract
The Chelsea management has fired the club’s commercial director, Damian Willoughby just two weeks into the job after allegations of sexual harassment and X-rated tweets were revealed.
Willoughby was fired by Chelsea because football finance agent Catalina Kim supplied “evidence of inappropriate messages.”
It is reported that Kim presented texts suggesting that Willoughby inquired whether she was naked and brought up the issue of sex, and he allegedly released a sexually graphic video.
She also reported that he suggested arranging a meeting with Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano provided she agreed to be “naughty.”
Kim notified the club’s president of business, Tom Glick, of Willoughby’s behaviour prior to his September hiring as a senior executive.
The Blues confirmed to the Telegraph,
“Chelsea Football Club confirms that it has terminated Commercial Director Damian Willoughby’s employment with immediate effect.
“Evidence of inappropriate messages sent by Mr Willoughby, prior to his appointment at Chelsea FC earlier this month, has recently been provided to and investigated by the Club. While they were sent prior to his employment at the Club, such behaviour runs absolutely counter to the workplace environment and corporate culture being established by the Club’s new ownership.
“The Club’s owners are working tirelessly to set and achieve the highest standards both on and off the pitch, and are determined to establish and nurture a culture of transparency, accountability, inclusivity, diversity and opportunity. The Club is committed to creating an environment which embodies these values.”
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Kim is the chief executive officer of C&P Sports Group and has orchestrated multimillion-pound partnerships with European powerhouses such as champions City and Spurs.
The Telegraph claims to have seen her text exchanges with Willoughby, which demonstrate that she constantly rejected him and reminded him that he is married.
Between 2007 and 2010, he worked at Stamford Bridge, but he supposedly met Kim in 2015 when he was at Manchester City.
Then, in the summer of this year, she was linked to offers to purchase Chelsea, while he was interested in backing a rival consortium – until Todd Boehly won the takeover battle.
On September 1, Glick informed her that Willoughby was the new commercial director at Chelsea, and the three of them met.
Subsequently, Kim expressed concerns with Glick, both over his efforts to gather funds for a bid to purchase Chelsea and subsequently regarding his earlier conduct.
It is believed that she had not previously spoken out against his naughty behaviour because she had planned to never work with him again.
Kim earlier told The Telegraph: “I can confirm that I made a complaint to Tom Glick about the general behaviour of Damian Willoughby over two years, including his recent threatening phone call to me.
“I strongly believe this is not a work environment and corporate culture that any Premier League club would tolerate.”
According to the report, Willoughby’s lawyers have declined to comment on the matter.
