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

Robin Bairner

7 Sept 2024 21:00 BST
3 min read

Chelsea is a club that has grown too used to crisis in recent seasons, but while many of these have been on the playing side, there is a boardroom ‘civil war’ brewing as Todd Boehly faces a crossroads at Stamford Bridge.

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While Sky Sports reports that Boehly is ready to sell his shares in Chelsea just two years after purchasing the club, The Telegraph indicates that he is plotting a complete takeover of the Premier League side and is planning with the club until the 2050s.

It is stated that the American is seeking to raise £2.5 billion in capital to buy Clearlake Capital out from its stake in the club.

The report goes on to say: “Boehly believes his working relationship with Chelsea co-owners Clearlake Capital is at breaking point and that a resolution must be found to avoid a civil war at Stamford Bridge.”

The problem for the club is that Clearlake also want to buy out Boehly’s stake in Chelsea, making for an unwelcome power struggle between the owners of the club.

The Telegraph speaks of a “cultural divide” between the two owners of the club, with the structure of the club having become “untenable”. There are “irreconcilable differences” at Stamford Bridge. It says that a solution to the problem needs to be found imminently.

“Should nothing change, there is an increasing sense that a civil war could break out that could be incredibly damaging for Chelsea, on and off the pitch,” it warns.

© IMAGO - Chelsea co-owners Behdad Eghbali and Boehly

What is Boehly offering?

Boehly is said to want to build a dynasty at Chelsea. He has a long-term vision for the team that stretches 20-30 years and would include a new stadium. Although he would take a hands-on approach to running the club at first, his aim would be to take a step back after a year.

Clearlake, on the other hand, is thinking in the shorter term, albeit still with a decade-long commitment to the Blues.

Behdad Eghbali, who is a co-owner of Clearlake with Jose E Feliciano, is a more of a micromanager and works closely with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

Currently, all the big decisions at Chelsea need cleared by Boehly, Eghbali and Feliciano, and with feuding between the parties, it threatens to cause chaos at Stamford Bridge.