BlueCo have been far from conventional in running Chelsea since their takeover in May 2022.
Chelsea fans became acclimatised to incredible levels of spending in the Roman Abramovich era, but Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital and the other members of BlueCo have taken it to new extremes.
Billions have been spent on new signings in something of a revolving door player trading strategy, with some clever accountancy allowing them to escape a breach of PSR.
Increasingly, it’s clear the owners see players as assets whose value appreciates, depreciates and can effectively serve as a fourth revenue stream, after commercial, media and matchday income.
The settlement agreement Chelsea have struck with UEFA for overspending within their financial framework means that this strategy will have to continue – perhaps even accelerate – in the future.
BlueCo have lost over £1bn since Chelsea takeover
Is this sustainable? What's Clearlake's masterplan to claw back these losses?
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On the pitch, it’s too early to say whether BlueCo’s left-field strategy will pay dividends.
But perhaps the most controversial cog in this machine is the group’s ownership of Strasbourg, the Alsace-based Ligue 1 team who have become the junior partner in the BlueCo multi-club operation.
And that is a status their fans are – understandably – not best pleased about.
Strasbourg fans protest against BlueCo ownership, CEO speaks out
The multi-club model is nothing new.
Manchester City’s City Football Group and the Red Bull network are the two most famous contemporary examples, but the model was widely-adopted before UEFA clamped down on it in the early 2000s.
But uniting more than one team in a shared ownership network has had a huge comeback in recent years. Chelsea are one of 16 Premier League teams who operate in a multi-club network of one form or another.
There aren’t many who are so tightly linked, however.
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Emmanuel Emegha will, of course, become the latest player to make the switch from Alsace to West London when he joins Chelsea in 2027.
Incidentally, the striker, 22, was recently handed a one-match suspension by Strasbourg for failing to uphold the “values, expectations and rules” of the club.
His impending move to Chelsea has, unsurprisingly, not gone down well with Strasbourg’s ultras, who have been anti-BlueCo since day one after the £65m takeover in June 2023.
Protests against the ownership have accelerated in recent weeks, leading CEO Marc Keller to address them in an extensive interview with BBC Sport.
The multi-club model is HUGELY controversial
If you were a Strasbourg fan, how would you feel being Chelsea's feeder club?
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“I know a minority of people are still asking some questions about the multi-club model,” he said. “Of course, we continue dialogue, and I think that the best answer, as I used to be a footballer, is on the pitch.
“I don’t think we are a feeder club, because a feeder club we are sending three, four, five, six players to Chelsea every season.
“I think it’s more… like a younger brother relationship, as we say in France, but you say sister club in England. We help each other.”
BlueCo have invested heavily in infrastructure and Strasbourg have performed well on the pitch since the takeover, but some fans remain anxious about losing the club’s identity in a multi-club network.
“European football is all about identity, history, heritage and a sense of belonging,” Kieran Maguire, football finance lecturer at the University of Liverpool, said in exclusive conversation with The Chelsea Chronicle.
Real Betis Balompie v Chelsea FC - UEFA Conference League Final 2025
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“You don’t necessarily see that in American franchise sport. Many of these franchises are transferable from city to city – relocation is simply seen as a business decision.
“The void between the Strasbourg fans and BlueCo is because they don’t understand football. And that won’t ever change, I’m afraid. There are certain things in American culture – frat parties and so on – that we don’t understand in the same way.
“Nobody wants to be the ‘younger brother’ in the relationship.”
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