Will civil war break out at Chelsea?
From the outside, it looks like Chelsea have been a mess ever since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over the Premier League club back in May 2022 but things are about to get even more chaotic as the relationship between the two has broken down. Chelsea are on the brink of “civil war” reports The Telegraph, as Boehly believes his relationship with Clearlake is at breaking point and the 50-year-old wants to buy his co-owners out in order to end the “untenable” situation that has developed at Stamford Bridge.
The man who has been at the forefront of Chelsea since 2022 believes he can get together more than £2.5 billion in order to buy out Clearlake’s Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano. He is determined to see through his long-term plans for the Premier League club, which includes building a new stadium in West London.
The problem Boehly now faces is that Clearlake have no intention of relinquishing their stake at such an early stage. Boehly owns just 13 per cent of Chelsea – the same as fellow businessman Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter – while Clearlake have 61.5 per cent. This gives the private equity firm the upper hand in this fight and they have a stronger chance of getting rid of the 50-year-old, which is something they want; however, they will likely have to persuade Wyss and Walter to sell their stakes alongside him in order to get the 38.5 per cent they don’t have.
Boehly has been one of the leading figures at Chelsea since Roman Abramovich’s stint as owner of the Premier League was brought to an end in May 2022 and the Blues have been a mess ever since. The London outfit has seen several managers come and go, with their current boss arguably the worst out of all the permanent head coaches that have been in charge over the last two years.
The Blues’ transfer strategy has been a mess with the club paying over the odds for several of their stars and also have too many players on their books at present. This has led to issues with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations, something that will become more of a problem for Chelsea further down the line. The situation amongst the ownership group now adds to this and it remains to be seen how it plays out.
In the end, the ones who are suffering are the fans, who have expressed their frustration with their current owners on several occasions. It won’t be long before they are completely done with their situation and the only thing that can stop that is results on the pitch.
