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Chelsea appeared to take a sly jab at one of their former managers through a post on X (earlier known as Twitter).

The West London club shared a seemingly indirect message on their official X handle following an end-of-season announcement, which many fans believe was aimed at a former boss.

Currently sitting 10th in the Premier League standings, Chelsea have endured a disappointing 2025/26 campaign that culminated in last weekend’s FA Cup final loss to Manchester City.

Despite their struggles and a significant dip in form from star forward Cole Palmer, the club chose to highlight one player in particular for keeping their turbulent season from getting worse.

In a post on X, Chelsea announced Brazilian striker Joao Pedro as their Player of the Season for 2025/26, after the 24-year-old netted 20 goals across all competitions.

Pedro scored 15 non-penalty goals in the Premier League and registered five assists, marking him as one of the few bright sparks for the Blues this season.

The announcement came shortly after Pedro was left out of Brazil’s 2026 World Cup squad by national team manager and former Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti, a decision that surprised many.

The Brazilian forward, who was once considered a near certainty for the 26-man squad heading to North America, did not make the final cut, while veteran forward Neymar was included.

In what seemed like a response to the exclusion, Chelsea posted a highlight reel of Pedro’s best moments from the season on X, captioned: “Our brilliant Brazilian.”

This timing led many supporters to interpret Chelsea’s post as a thinly veiled dig at Ancelotti, who had previously managed the Blues from 2009 to 2011.

During his tenure, Ancelotti won 67 of his 109 matches in charge, suffered 23 defeats, and guided Chelsea to a Premier League and FA Cup double in the 2009-10 season.

Although Pedro’s recent form has dipped, he delivered an impressive four goal contributions during Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa in March — which remains their last Premier League victory.

Chelsea will next return to Premier League action tonight against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who are battling to avoid relegation.