Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are at loggerheads following a tumultuous season behind the scenes at Chelsea and both sides are plotting their moves to oust the other
Todd Boehly wants to buy his Chelsea co-owners out in order to end the ‘untenable’ situation that has developed at the club – but he won’t get his way.
Boehly has been one of the leading figures at Chelsea since Roman Abramovich’s stint in charge was brought to an end in May 2022. The American businessman was the frontman for the deal which saw Clearlake Capital become the main investor and served as interim sporting director while the current executive team was put in place.
Much of the chaotic work in the transfer market and the hiring and firing of managers has been attributed to Boehly, who has often been pictured watching matches at Stamford Bridge. By contrast, Behdad Eghbali – the co-founder of Clearlake and Chelsea co-owner – has remained more out of the spotlight.
Things have come to a head at Stamford Bridge, with Boehly at loggerheads with Eghbali and his Clearlake colleagues. Just over two years after completing the takeover, the working relationship between the most important people at Chelsea is understood to have broken down beyond repair.
The Telegraph reports that Boehly believes he can get together more than £2.5billion in order to buy out Clearlake’s Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano. He is determined to see through his long-term plans for Chelsea, which include building a new stadium, and wants rid of his fellow investors.
The problem is that Clearlake have no intention of relinquishing their stake in the club at such an early stage – and they hold the stronger hand. While Boehly personally owns just 13 per cent of the club – the same as fellow businessman Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter – Clearlake have 61.5 per cent.
On the other hand, if Clearlake want rid of Boehly, then they will likely have to persuade Wyss and Walter to sell their stakes alongside him in order to get the 38.5 per cent they don’t have currently. That is a costly prospect – and any involvement of a third party is complicated by the fact that Boehly and Clearlake have matching rights and blocking options.
The report describes the current situation behind the scenes as ‘untenable’ with ‘irreconcilable differences in opinion’ between the parties. While Boehly was the face of the new ownership in the early months, he has now stepped away from the day-to-day running of the business, allowing Eghbali to take more control.
Eghbali is understood to be much more influential now that sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are in place. But progress off the pitch has been slowed down by the fact that any major decision has to be greenlighted by Eghbali, Feliciano and Boehly.
The chaos behind the scenes is bad news for new manager Enzo Maresca, who is trying to buck the trend of his predecessors after signing a five-year contract to succeed Mauricio Pochettino. The former Leicester manager has inherited a supremely talented yet bloated squad and has taken four points from three matches in the Premier League, while stuttering past Servette in the Europa Conference League play-offs.
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