The US private equity firm Clearlake owns 61.5 per cent of Chelsea and has no intention of selling any of its shares or relinquishing control; Todd Boehly wants to buy out Clearlake but he has not made a bid and faces an almost impossible task to take control of the club
Tuesday 10 September 2024 23:32, UK
Todd Boehly is determined to press ahead with plans to buy Chelsea despite Clearlake Capital being confident it will continue to be the club's majority owners in the long term.
Chelsea insiders are surprised and concerned that differences between the ownership groups - which are now irreconcilable - have entered the public domain.
Boehly - who has no intention of selling any of his shares - is unhappy with the way the club is being run and the lack of progress over the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge. He also did not want Mauricio Pochettino to lose his job as head coach at the end of last season.
The decision to replace Pochettino was taken after co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley compiled a detailed review of the season. Boehly and Clearlake Capital's Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano have sign-off on all key decisions at the club.
Multiple long-term investors have approached Boehly in the past month to offer to provide the funds to buy out Clearlake. They believe their offer would be so compelling that it would have to be considered by Clearlake's investors.
The decision on whether to accept or reject any bid would be made by Clearlake co-founders Eghbali and Feliciano.
Clearlake has completely ruled out selling any of its shares despite Boehly refusing to take no for an answer as things stand.
The Clearlake-Boehly consortium bought Chelsea in a £2.5bn deal in 2022. Not even a significant premium on that price would tempt Clearlake to consider selling its stake.
While Boehly has let it be known that he is unhappy with the current ownership structure, nothing has been heard yet from other investors such as Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss.
Boehly, Walter and Wyss each own just under 13 per cent of Chelsea, which makes up the 38.5 per cent of shares not owned by Clearlake.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are considering all options for a bigger stadium. No decision has been made yet on whether to redevelop Stamford Bridge or to move to a new site.
Chelsea chief executive Jason Gannon has held talks with Transport for London and property developers Delancey about including a football stadium in plans to redevelop Earls Court.
However, the Earls Court Development Company have ruled out such a move. "There is no plan within our plans for Chelsea FC to relocate to the Earls Court site," a spokesperson said.
"We have a fully detailed design, shortly to be registered with both local authorities, which prioritises the delivery of thousands of homes and jobs, culture and open space through a well-designed and considered masterplan which has evolved over four years of engagement.
"This will see development commence in 2026 with the first residents and occupiers moving in from 2030. This is, and will remain, our primary focus."
In April, Chelsea's parent company BlueCo bought a 1.9-acre site next to Stamford Bridge which would make it easier to redevelop the stadium.
Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
Eghbali and Boehly were never best friends but it does definitely appear as if their relationship is less close than it was when they first arrived at Stamford Bridge.
They are both very successful, strong-headed businessmen and it is natural that they will both have their own ideas about how the club should be run.
In private conversations up until last year they put on a united front, but it is now clear that Boehly has reservations about the club's new recruitment strategy and the failure to make significant progress on redeveloping Stamford Bridge.
Having said that, all major decisions at Chelsea have to be signed off by Eghbali, Feliciano and Boehly - so Boehly is still closely involved in the overall strategy.
Relations between Eghbali and Boehly can best be described as professional and cordial at the moment. Boehly visited the Clearlake box at Stamford Bridge before the opening game of the season against Manchester City three weeks ago.
While unrest continues to rumble on off the pitch, Chelsea will return to action on it with a game against Bournemouth in their first fixture after the international break.
The match kicks off at 8pm on Saturday - live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event.
Enzo Maresca's side will be looking to build on their emphatic 6-2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers prior to the break, while Bournemouth will be eager to secure back-to-back wins following the late comeback victory against Everton.
