Chelsea FC sold: Todd Boehly-led consortium completes takeover from Roman Abramovich

Chelsea Football Club has been sold to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, which will take over as the next proprietors of the Premier League club. The transfer of ownership from Roman Abramovich to the Boehly-led consortium was completed on Monday, Chelsea confirmed in a statement.

The consortium includes names such as Mark Walter, co-founder and CEO of Guggenheim Capital, Hansjörg Wyss, founder of the Wyss Foundation, Todd Boehly, chairman and CEO of Eldridge, and Clearlake Capital Group. 

Chelsea FC was put on sale after the British government imposed sanctions on the Russian oligarch and former owner of the club, Roman Abramovich. The sanctions were imposed in the wake of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February this year.

The Premier League approved the sale of the club to the consortium led by Boehly earlier last week. The British government approved the sale after ensuring that Abramovich doesn't profit from it. Since Abramovich's assets were frozen in March, Chelsea has been functioning under a government licence, which expires on Tuesday.

'We are honoured' 

Boehly is a part-owner of American baseball team Los Angeles Dodgers. The American businessman also owns a 27% stake in the NBA team Los Angeles Lakers. It is the thirst-highest valued team in the basketball league. Boehly had earlier attempted to acquire Chelsea FC in 2019 for $3 billion but the offer was rejected by the then-owner of the club, Roman Abramovich. Boehly in a statement said that the entire consortium is honoured to become the owners of Chelsea FC and said that their primary vision is to make the fans proud. 

"We are honoured to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club. We’re all in – 100% -- every minute of every match. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud. Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the Club for the long-term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success. I personally want to thank ministers and officials in the British government, and the Premier League, for all their work in making this happen," Boehly said in a statement.

"We are excited to commit the resources to continue Chelsea’s leading role in English and global football, and as an engine for football talent development. We also want to thank the authorities for all their work throughout the process. As pioneers in sports and media investing, we are thrilled to partner with Todd and the rest of the consortium to meaningfully grow the Club as a global platform. Together, we will expand the Club’s investment across infrastructure, technology, and sports science to support the incredible Chelsea football and commercial teams – all with the goal of leveraging this growth to fuel even more on-pitch success," Clearlake co-founders and managing partners Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano said. 

Image: AP