The new era has officially begun, with the “Consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital” (which have yet to come up with a more manageable name) today finalizing their acquisition of Chelsea Football Club.
The previous 19 years under the ownership of Roman Abramovich have been unprecedented in many ways (on and off the pitch) and perhaps inimitable for any incoming new owner. When Abramovich acquired the club, the media narrative imagined he would miss his toy soon after. Instead, he fell in love and showered the club with bottomless generosity, not just in terms of transfer funding, but also in establishing a world-class youth academy and women’s team.
For the new owners, the primary objective should be to at least maintain all of this, while investing where needed, including in the stadium (also stipulated in the sale contract) and the reconstruction of the first team. . Todd Boehly is the face of the new operation and he intends to build on the success of the past two decades.
“We are honored to become Chelsea Football Club’s new goalkeepers. We are all 100% every minute of every game. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud. youth team and acquiring the best talent, our action plan is to invest in the club for the long term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success.
-Todd Boehly; source: Chelsea FC
Obviously, this is a rather vague mission statement, but most mission statements are. It’s not for us to know a point-by-point action plan, so we’ll just have to trust that he and his partners will take good care of the club.
The main partner (and most of the financial muscle) is Clearlake Capital, whose co-founders may also find themselves quite involved in running the club – and not just exploiting us for profits and dividends.
“We are delighted to commit the resources necessary to continue Chelsea’s leading role in English and world football, and as a driving force in the development of footballing talent. We would also like to thank the authorities for all their hard work while throughout the process.
“As pioneers of sports and media investing, we are delighted to partner with Todd and the rest of the consortium to significantly grow the Club as a global platform. Club’s investment in infrastructure, technology and sports science to support Chelsea’s incredible football and business teams, all with the aim of leveraging this growth to fuel even greater success on the pitch.
-Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano; source: Chelsea FC
It all sounds pretty good, though the proof, as always, will be in the pudding.
Let’s cook!