Todd Boehly vs Behdad Eghbali: Chelsea's civil war explained

Cameron Smith

• 8 Sept 2024 19:00 BST
• 4 min read

A civil war is brewing at Chelsea and the relationship between Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali appears close to breaking point.

The Blues have been a constant presence in the transfer market since Roman Abramovich’s departure in 2022, but their ludicrous spending hasn’t reaped any rewards thus far.

Chelsea have spent over €1.2 billion on new signings under their new owners, however they finished 12th in 2022-23 and could only muster a sixth place finish last term.

READ MORE: Every wonderkid Chelsea have signed under Todd Boehly

The west London club are also on their fifth different manager of the Clearlake Capital era, discounting Bruno Salter’s one match spell in the dugout, with Enzo Maresca now in charge following Mauricio Pochettino’s exit in May.

However, tensions are rising behind the scenes as Boehly and Eghbali look to stamp their authority and maintain control at Stamford Bridge.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the civil war that is set to take place at Chelsea.

READ MORE: Chelsea crisis! ‘Incredibly damaging’ civil war looms as Boehly relationship hits ‘breaking point’

Todd Boehly vs Clearlake Capital

Although Boehly has largely been the face of Chelsea’s ownership group since Abrahmovich’s departure, his influence has diminished since stepping down as Sporting Director.

In fact, Eghbali is now the man with the most power at Stamford Bridge, and he is a key reason why the club parted ways with Pochettino.

Clearlake Capital, a private equity fund managed by Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano, currently hold a majority 61.5% stake in Chelsea, while the remaining 38.5% is split equally between BlueCo partners Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter.

As things stand, Clearlake Capital have no desire to sell any of its shares and are even open to exploring the possibility of buying Boehly out.

Meanwhile, Boehly is prepared to take full control of Chelsea and is confident of spending £2.5 billion on a takeover bid. He will not be forced out of the club, despite Eghbali’s openness to purchase his shares, and is eager to lead the Blues forward for the next 20 to 30 years.

The American billionaire is reportedly aware that Chelsea’s management structure is “untenable,” as per The Guardian, while he has lost faith in his working relationship with Clearlake Capital.

Essentially, the relationship between Boehly and Eghbali has slowly worsened over the past two years and it appears as though Chelsea’s co-owners are now at a crossroads. Neither wants to leave, both are eager to increase their stake, and they don’t see eye-to-eye on decisions.

Therefore, it's fair to say that a civil war is brewing.