Todd Boehly – visionary sports investment genius or a football ignoramus whose takeover of Chelsea who has turned Stamford Bridge into a circus tent?
There aren’t many swing voters when it comes to Chelsea’s owners, the international consortium of billionaires who bought the club from Roman Abramovich in May 2022. Depending on who you ask, he’s either two steps ahead or three behind.
Todd Boehly himself actually only holds a modest 13 per cent of Chelsea equity but, as chairman and public face of the BlueCo regime, has absorbed his fair share of criticism.
Internally, he and Behdad Eghbali – co-founder of Clearlake Capital, who own the majority of the shares – are pulling in different directions over the future of Stamford Bridge.
Diagram illustrating the ownership of Chelsea, split between factions led by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali's Clearlake Capital
Chelsea ownership diagram Credit: Adam Williams/GRV Media/The Chelsea Chronicle
Both men made their billions in the private equity racket and both have given their blessing to the extravagant programme of spending in West London over the last three years, but it’s bricks and mortar that Boehly has suggested could see one of the co-owners exit the club. Boehly wants to leave Stamford Bridge, while Eghbali wants to stay and expand capacity to above 60,000.
Having a dozen or so billionaires in your ownership structure gives you access to a broad capital base and more brains, yes, but it also risks ego clashes and differences over the fundamental vision for the club.
Boehly has played down talk of a rift, although he would say that, wouldn’t he?
Between the controversy surrounding his involvement with ticket resale site Vivid Seats, Chelsea’s ongoing PSR issues, visits to Donald Trump’s Whitehouse, the acquisition of the Trent Rockets cricket franchise and his attempts to take over The Telegraph newspaper, the American billionaire has enough on his plate.
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
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All that while he is trying to scale Chelsea commercially – and there have been several setbacks in that department since he first arrived in SW6.
Like last season, Chelsea started 2024-25 without a front-of-shirt sponsor. Unlike last season, when Infinite Athlete signed with the club in September, the front-of-shirt vacancy has lasted nearly the entire campaign this time around.
Incidentally, the Premier League classified the Infinite Athlete deal as an Associated Party Transaction (APT) due to the tech firm’s links to Boehly.
As a result, it underwent a rigorous review to ensure it reflected fair market value – adding yet another headache for Boehly after sleeve sponsor WhaleFin terminated their deal with the club early.
Chart showing Chelsea commercial income vs Premier League rivals, with The Chelsea Chronicle logo
Chelsea commercial income chart Credit: Adam Williams/The Chelsea/Chronicle/GRV Media
Now, they have temporarily addressed the absence of a front-of-shirt sponsor, signing a deal with DAMAC, a Dubai-based property developer.
The partnership itself will likely be worth a very modest seven-figure sum, but it also illuminates another element of Boehy’s masterplan at Chelsea.
Todd Boehly’s real estate vision for Chelsea
“When you have that kind of intellectual property, you’re only limited by your creativity.”
Todd Boehly’s words in an interview with Bloomberg earlier this year were telling and explain why some in the football finance community believe his grand vision for the club will one day justify the lavish spending. Basically, he thinks Chelsea have the potential to use their brand to much greater effect.
In a slightly left-field example, the DAMAC partnership – which was debuted in last night’s 4-1 Conference League semi-final first leg win over Djurgarden – will see a £1bn property development in Abu Dhabi branded with the Chelsea badge.
Until recently, the perception within sports investment circles was that digital growth was the way to scale football and justify investments like BlueCo’s £2.5bn acquisition of Chelsea. Now, bricks and mortar are back in.
It’s why Boehly favours the move to Earl’s Court, where there is the potential for a larger stadium and a mixed use commercial and residential development. Space at Stamford Bridge, where the club has acquired a plot of land that would be key to the redevelopment, is very limited.
Infographic showing Chelsea's matchday income and stadium capacity relative to the rest of the Premier League, with The Chelsea Chronicle logo
Chelsea stadium capacity and matchday income Credit: Adam Williams/The Chelsea Chronicle/GRV Media
The belief among the likes of Boehly and Arsenal benefactor Stan Kroenke is that football is a natural centrepiece for a property empire. Club owners want to build Disney Land-style complexes that empty supporters’ wallets beyond just the price of a ticket. For that, you need land.
Given that Boehly and fellow Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein own the £13bn real estate asset manager Cain International, they are in prime position to capitalise.
This is part of the commercial vision he had for the club when he took over. Currently, Chelsea are running at annual operating loss of £200m. To eliminate that shortfall and then get to a stage where they can actually start to make money, they need to innovate commercially.
Real estate, whether in West London or the United Arab Emirates, is a part of that masterplan.
Chelsea’s PSR position ahead of the summer window
With Chelsea almost certain to be playing Europe against next season, they will ned to comply with both the Premier League and UEFA’s spending rules.
Thanks to their intra-company asset trading – the hotels, the car park, the women’s team etc – they have some leeway as far as the domestic system is concerned.
Infographic explaining Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) for the Premier League, Championship and UEFA, for the Chelsea Chronicle
Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) infographic Credit: Adam Williams/The Chelsea Chronicle/GRV Media
However, UEFA do not take those transactions into account in their own calculations. Chelsea are almost certain to fail European football’s governing body’s test.
There will be player trading this summer, which will allow them to spend under the Premier League rules. With UEFA, it appears as though Boehly and his peers are simply happy to accept the fine.