CHELSEA ace Trevoh Chalobah was forced to delete a tweet praising his pal Declan Rice after receiving an angry backlash from his own fans.
The pair grew up together in the Blues academy until Rice was released aged 14 and joined West Ham.
They remain good friends so when Rice delivered a dominant performance in the 4-1 win over Leicester on Monday night, Chalobah was quick to laud the Hammer.
He wrote: “Big player,” an hour after full-time as he shared Rice’s post.
But as reported by the Metro, the rising star soon removed his comment following a barrage of messages.
West Ham’s win took them top of the Premier League table, leapfrogging Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Plenty piled in with abhorrent abuse over his support for a rival player, especially after the change in the league standings.
Some even called for him to leave Stamford Bridge and get out of the club for his message.
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But after deleting the tweet, Chalobah received overwhelming support as fans recognised he was simply supporting a mate.
Mason Mount was also part of the Chelsea youth side along with Chalobah and Rice.
He remains best friends with the West Ham vice-captain, holidaying and regularly hanging out together.
On Tuesday, Spurs midfielder Dele Alli turned up at Ben Chilwell’s house while the Chelsea left-back had a piano lesson.
And at the weekend, Blues icon John Terry singled out Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe for praise.
Chalobah, younger brother of Nathaniel, joined Chelsea in 2007 and progressed through the academy before heading on loans to Ipswich, Huddersfield and Lorient.
Most expected him to be shipped out once again this term.
But the 22-year-old impressed in pre-season so Tuchel handed him a senior debut in the Super Cup before he scored in his maiden Premier League game against Crystal Palace on August 14.
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