The richest clubs in world football: Chelsea’s new owners slot into sixth place
Even as the Roman Abramovich era comes to an end at Chelsea, the London club will remain one of the richest in the world. That’s because the consortium led by new owner Todd Boehly is worth a combined £10.86bn.
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That’s according to The Sun, who explain that this places Chelsea in sixth place in the list of the clubs with the wealthiest football club owners.
🚨🔵 Official. Chelsea statement now confirms that “terms have been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the Club”. #CFC
It’s the end of Roman Abramovich era. pic.twitter.com/fTw5EMdd8p— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 7, 2022
The full list is as follows, with Newcastle United now top after the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund took control of the English club midway through the current season.
1. Newcastle United - Saudi Arabia Public Investment: £324bn
2. PSG - Qatar Investment Authority: £223bn
3. Manchester City – Sheikh Mansour: £22bn
4. RB Leipzig & RB Salzburg - Dietrich Mateschitz: £16bn
5. Juventus – Andrea Agnelli: £14bn
6. Chelsea – Boehly and his consortium: £11bn
7. LA Galaxy - Philip Anschutz: £8bn
8. Arsenal – Stan Kroenke: £7bn
9. Inter - Zhang Jindong: £6bn
10. Wolves - Guo Guangchang: £5bn
From Abramovich to Boehly
For Chelsea, this sale doesn’t significantly alter their standing in world football’s rich list. As of March 2022, Forbes estimated Abramovich's net worth to be around £10.7 billion. That’s almost identical to the combined wealth of the new owners.
The big difference from Chelsea’s point of view is that the new ownership group isn’t suffering any sanctions from the UK government.
Plus, they have promised to commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the club, including investments in the development of Stamford Bridge, the academy, the women's team and Kingsmeadow, as well as continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation.
Chelsea may also spend big in the 2022 summer transfer window, especially since they are set to lose multiple players as free agents at the end of the current campaign. With Newcastle United also set for a summer of major spending under their new owners, the Blues will have to be alert to ensure their place in the top four of English football doesn’t come under threat.