Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso was caught off guard after Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham when asked whether he knew that striker Joao Pedro's injury had been leaked through the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game. "I am not into the fantasy team thing, so I didn't know that," Alonso said.
How the leak unfolded
FPL managers tracking accounts believed to belong to Chelsea staff, players, and relatives noticed telling transfers before the deadline. One manager, known as FPL Karim, identified that Morgan Rogers' brother had sold Joao Pedro and brought in Nicolas Jackson that gameweek. The move appeared unusual because Joao Pedro was among the most-owned forwards in the game. By the time the injury was confirmed, 1.7 million managers had already selected Joao Pedro as captain, a choice that doubles a player's points return. Alonso later explained the striker missed the match due to "fluid on his thigh," despite having been pictured in training during the week.
A growing trend across the Premier League
Alonso is among several managers who have become more guarded with team news. Last month he said he prefers not to give more information than needed, ahead of a 3-0 loss at Brentford where injury concerns were kept quiet. With more than 11 million people playing FPL according to official figures, many club employees, players, and family members participate. The game's public leaderboard allows observers to link accounts to specific clubs and infer training-ground developments.
Previous high-profile cases include Jack Grealish's absence from Aston Villa's match against Leicester City in February 2021. Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers admitted hearing about the issue beforehand, while Villa boss Dean Smith reportedly banned club figures from playing FPL. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola later described the situation as "unethical and unprofessional." Similar leaks have been claimed involving players from Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester, and Newcastle.
Experts and club responses
FPL analyst FPL Focal told BBC Sport that many more club-linked accounts likely remain undiscovered, and some players have started using aliases. Chelsea have experienced multiple leaks recently, including three during Liam Rosenior's brief tenure, two before their 8-2 aggregate Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain. Remarkably, former defender Marc Cucurella's barber revealed both Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro were injured. Since then, Chelsea have reminded players to be careful about sharing information and have added new fencing around first-team training pitches.
Clubs can discourage staff from selecting their own players in FPL or even ban the game entirely, but the Premier League treats any issues as a club matter. Monitoring the activity of players' friends and family remains a significant challenge.
