When Paul Green left Chelsea after 13 years, he had won so much that most of his medals were sitting in a box under the bed. He only began to appreciate the scale of it once he was gone. Now the former head of Chelsea's women's football is starting again at Bay FC in San Francisco, and he has spoken to BBC Sport about both chapters.
Nineteen trophies and a box of medals
Green built a formidable partnership with Emma Hayes, and together they helped Chelsea collect 19 major trophies. Under his leadership the club won six successive Women's Super League titles, the last of them under current manager Sonia Bompastor in 2025. They also reached the Women's Champions League final in 2021, and Green believes nobody will match that spell of dominance anytime soon.
He says the medals were an afterthought. They were chucked in a box under the bed, and only now has he had time to get them framed. It was, he said, some of the best times of his life, though he admits it took leaving to understand what the success meant.
A sudden exit and seven months away
Green left suddenly in February amid reports of unrest in Chelsea's hierarchy. Asked about it, he put it down to clubs moving on and a lot of people changing over the years, adding that he felt the club had chosen a different direction and that he left it in a better place than he found it.
He had seven months out of football before he was appointed chief football officer at Bay FC in September. The response to his Chelsea exit, he said, was overwhelming, and the lack of structure after 13 years of routine was hard in the early days. He spent that time with his family.
The Bay FC challenge
He has taken over a project led by former Football Association director Kay Cossington, under the multi-club ownership of Bay Collective. Bay FC are third from bottom in the National Women's Soccer League with three matches left in the 2026 season, and Green wants to improve the squad immediately by using his contacts built up over 20 years. They are also moving into new training facilities next year, and he says the club's infrastructure, staffing and facilities are being worked on. He sees similarities with the early days at Chelsea.
Finding minutes for young English players
Green also had a view on a problem worrying English women's football: the shrinking game time for homegrown talent. At Chelsea he oversaw the development of players including Aggie Beever-Jones, who was in the squad that won Euro 2025 with England, and Lexi Potter, who made her England debut in the 5-0 win over Greece last week. His answer is a good loan programme with the right partner club. If a club cannot provide that, he thinks young players may have to go abroad, and he pointed to the B-team model used in other European leagues.
Context: Paul Green left Chelsea in February 2026 after 13 years and became chief football officer of Bay FC in September 2026. Bay FC are third from bottom in the NWSL with three games left. Source interview: BBC Sport, 17 October 2026.
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