Despite another reset with a new manager and fresh strategy, the boardroom drama persists at Stamford Bridge
Perhaps, in hindsight, it was always going to end this way. As some of the world’s wealthiest investors scrambled to find funds after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine set a series of dominoes toppling that forced Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea, it threw together some unexpected allies.
Todd Boehly became the public face of the winning bid, convincing the US sports mogul Mark Walter and the Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss to join as 12.8% minority investors. The private equity firm Clearlake Capital put in 61.6%, bringing the owners Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano, who made their fortunes investing in tech, into the leadership fold.
But once the adrenaline rush of beating 11 serious rivals in an expedited bid process run by the Raine Group had worn off, that was really when the problems started. Now they actually owned Chelsea, how were they going to run it? What was the strategy? How would they tackle a stadium falling well behind their rivals?
Maybe Abramovich made running Chelsea look easier than it was. The club had not finished outside the top five for six seasons, yet in the four seasons since the takeover, their average league position is eighth – with a high of fourth and a low of 12th. Possibly the conflicting opinions of people who always think they are right, and have the money to prove it, is not the optimal setup.
Before the takeover, an agreement was struck that Boehly, representing Walter and Wyss, would have final signoff on major decisions alongside Eghbali and Feliciano. Over the years, Boehly and Eghbali have been the dominant day-to-day decision-makers at the club, while the others remained largely silent partners, insulated from the fan anger and social media ridicule that inevitably follows any period of struggle.
Some sources maintain that Boehly and Eghbali share a “professional” relationship, but signs of strain had leaked into the public domain long before this week’s revelation that Boehly and Walter were open to selling their stakes to Clearlake in a deal that would value the club at about £5bn.
In May 2024 Boehly told the Qatar Economic Forum that “patience” with the project was essential. Mauricio Pochettino had just led Chelsea to the EFL Cup final, the FA Cup semi-final and they had recovered from a poor start to finish sixth. Cole Palmer was a breakout star; Reece James was made captain. They won their last five games of the season.
Six days later, Pochettino was gone – dismissed after the co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart compiled an 18-page review of the season.
Another glimpse of the pervading tension – and possibly a hint at what was to come – emerged in March last year in Boehly’s Bloomberg interview discussing the slow-moving stadium development plans, four years after they were announced.
“We have to think long term about what we’re trying to accomplish,” Boehly said. “We have a big stadium development opportunity that we have to flesh out. That’s going to be where we’re either aligned or we ultimately decide to go different ways.”
Publicly, Boehly insisted the ownership was aligned. Yet that is also at odds with how it began: the American installing himself as sporting director and driving a £250m spending spree targeting experienced players such as Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Chelsea finished 12th.
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Boehly then stepped back, with Eghbali taking a more active role. About 70 interviews took place to build a new football structure, resulting in the appointments of Winstanley and Stewart – later promoted to co-sporting directors – and Joe Shields, now a co-director of recruitment.
They attempted to redefine how a football club is run: buying young, handing out unusually long contracts, in a model that has fascinated and baffled many in football. As an indication of how well that’s gone, in 2024 fans placed stickers around Stamford Bridge mocking up the three owners as clowns, while the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust described their club as “a laughing stock”.
