Chelsea owner Todd Boehly wants to buy Ligue 1 club

Stuart Telford

• 24 Feb 2023 15:39 CST
• 3 min read

Todd Boehly already has Chelsea and the Los Angeles Dodgers in his sports portfolio, and now the American billionaire is looking to branch out in the soccer world, according to reports in France.

Boehly led a consortium which bought out Roman Abramovich's ownership of Chelsea in last May, paying £4.25 billion for the club, which included a commitment to renovate the Blues' Stamford Bridge home.

Since being in power, Boehly has overseen more than €600 million in player transfers, with Marc Cucurella becoming the most expensive left-back ever last summer and Enzo Fernandez the costliest UK transfer of all-time when his €120m release clause at Benfica was met in January.

READ: The SIX players who could leave Chelsea this summer

And now he is interested in buying Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, according to French sports daily l'Equipe.

"President of [Strasbourg] since 2012, Marc Keller and the 10 other shareholders began several years ago 'a reflection on the best way to sustain the club and strengthen its ambitions,'" they write. "We know that this will go through the arrival of a strong partner who brings investment power.

Meeting with Boehly

"In this context, the 55-year-old manager [Keller] recently had lunch with the American owners of Chelsea. According to our information, the latter are very interested in the Strasbourg, a financially healthy club that they could help to grow, in particular via player loans.

"Wishing to acquire 100 pr cent of le Racing, Todd Boehly and his partners would subsequently approach the German market."

READ: Chelsea want to LOWER wage bill and REDUCE contracts

Which Bundesliga club Boehly might then go for remains unclear, but it seems obvious he is trying to create a network akin to what Manchester City have, with various satellite clubs such as New York City and Melbourne City.

Chelsea currently have 22 players out on loan, and they are trying to secure temporary destinations next season for January arrivals Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana.