Todd Boehly is often characterised by the media and fans as Chelsea’s ‘owner’. And while he does hold a large stake, the American is actually only one shareholder among several.
Boehly became the poster boy for the takeover that saw his private equity-funded consortium assume control of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich two-and-a-half years ago.
Chelsea's US owner Todd Boehly reacts at the end of the UEFA Champions League Group E football match between Chelsea and AC Milan at Stamford Bridg...
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And in the early stages, Boehly exerted influence as though he was the ultimate power at Stamford Bridge, naming himself interim sporting director and engineering the club’s transfer strategy.
But as has time has gone on, Clearlake Capital and Behdad Eghbali have become the chief decision makers in SW6, reflecting the size of their equity stake.
Diagram illustrating the ownership of Chelsea, split between factions led by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali
At some point during the transitionary phase, Chelsea’s results began to turn, culminating in the stell form Enzo Maresca’s side are currently in.
Whether that is cause or a simply a correlation is up for debate, but it has meant that the rift between Eghbali and Boehly’s factions has been put to one side – at least for now.
Questions around Chelsea’s compliance with PSR/FFP will persist, but the club as a sporting institution is looking in its best shape for several years.
The long-term plan? To turn Chelsea into a consistently profitable club, similar to Boehly’s Los Angeles Dodgers or LA Lakers in MLB and NBA respectively.
New Dodgers owners of Guggenheim Baseball Management, LLC - (from left) Stan Kasten, Mark Walter, Earvin Magic Johnson, Peter Guber, and Todd Boehl...
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Commercial income is a big part of the masterplan, but perhaps the biggest unresolved issue is the future of Stamford Bride, where redevelopment has been targeted for some time to supercharge revenue.
The plans to either rebuild or expand the stadium were part of the reason that Chelsea took on £500m worth of debt in September last year.
The lender? Ares, one of the world’s biggest private investment firms.
Now, new developments in the United States show the scale of Ares ambitions at Chelsea and beyond.
Ares Management make biggest sports move post-Chelsea investment
When Ares lent Chelsea £500m, it was described by some reliable sources as a preferred equity deal.
Whether they intend to one day take a stake in the club itself isn’t known, but the persistent interest of the private equity sector in football is interesting.
Infographic explaining private equity in football, the ownership model of Chelsea as well as several other Premier League clubs
Unlike US franchise sports, the pathway to profitability – which is the ultimate aim of PE firms looking to one day flip their investment – is not entirely clear.
In sports leagues such as the NFL on the other hand, there is an established roadmap whereby huge revenue and profits are virtually guaranteed.
That is why Ares have just acquired a 10 per cent stake of the Miami Dolphins, the two-time Super Bowl champions, for around £810m.
A general view of Chelsea branding, seen outside the stadium prior to the Barclays Women's Super League match between Chelsea and Manchester United...
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Incidentally, the Dolphins was where new Chelsea commercial president Todd Kline made a name for himself in the sports business world.
That itself is emblematic of the tightening Ven diagram between Chelsea, the wider football industry, and the private equity sector.
It is also telling that funds provided for Chelsea by Ares were earmarked for the widening of the BlueCo multi-club network.
That they are confident that further takeovers in football will be a fruitful enterprise is also interesting on Ares’ part.
Who is winning the Chelsea boardroom battle between Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali?
In short, we don’t know what is happening behind closed doors.
In briefings to journalists, Chelsea insist that it is all quiet on the Western Front as far as the feud between Eghbali and Boehly is concerned.
The pair are unlikely to want to do anything to upset the equilibrium established by Maresca this season in any case.
There is no doubt who holds the high card if the situation does threaten to boil over again, however.
Chelsea Co-owners Todd Boehly (L) and Behdad Eghbali (R) during the Carabao Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on Feb...
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Clearlake and Egbhali have no real need to increase their stake at Boehly’s expense, as it was suggested was the likely outcome of the boardroom drama earlier this year.
Boehly, on the other hand, has no real clear pathway to a full takeover.
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