BEHDAD EGHBALI will block any attempt from Todd Boehly to sell his Chelsea stake to outside investors.
A civil war has broken out between Chelsea‘s two powerbrokers with both Boehly and majority owners Clearlake Capital exploring the option of buying the other out.
Boehly believes he can raise a staggering £2.5billion to buy out Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano, his Clearlake co-founder, but they have no intention of selling.
And amid suspicions Boehly is simply engineering his own exit from the club, Clearlake intend to block any attempt to sell to an outsider.
As controlling owners with a 61.5 per cent stake, the investment fund have rights to block any sale of their partner’s shares.
Boehly is part of a trio that own 38.5 per cent of the club alongside Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter.
Claims that Boehly is considering selling his stake, which would amount to almost 13 per cent, have been denied.
Clearlake are considering an offer to take complete control of the club in what is seen as the most likely solution to the boardroom rift, given their reluctance to sell.
Sources around the private equity firm claim there could still be a way back to a more amiable working relationship, although it is seen as unlikely given Boehly has lost faith in his partners.
The American billionaire, who also owns a stake in the baseball side LA Dodgers, took a leading role following the £2.5bn takeover from Roman Abramovich in May 2022, but has since seen his control shift to Eghbali.
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Boehly was initially a stand-in sporting director but the last 18 months has seen Eghbali take a far more significant role, working closely with sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.
Chelsea have spent over £1.2bn on players and sacked three managers; Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino, without winning a trophy since the Americans took over.
Chelsea are a circus – it will be TERRIBLE for football if they win anything, says Troy Deeney
CHELSEA are a circus — aren’t they?, writes Troy Deeney.
But the bigger concern should be if somehow, some way, Todd Boehly’s insane master-plan brings about success this season.
Finish in the top four. Win a trophy like the FA Cup.
He will then turn around and say: “See, it works” and all of a sudden, other clubs will begin considering copying this mad model to try and compete in the Premier League.
Before you know it, there will be a bigger divide between the top clubs and the rest and this country’s top flight will become something we have been fighting against — a Super League.
The smaller sides and promoted teams will be wiped out by the elite and will end up saying, ‘What’s the point?’
Football as we know it will change, and there will be no going back.
As a neutral, you don’t want to wish failure on a club or a regime, but it’s depressing to think about.
We should almost be looking at it in amazement — the owners have come in with this model and they’ve treated it as if they are buying stocks and shares, not players or human beings.
Boehly has wiped away any sense of sentiment or old-school values from that club and the worrying thing is that he doesn’t seem to care.
Does he even like football?
Read Troy Deeney’s hard-hitting opinion on Boehly’s Chelsea shambles in full.
Or check out all of Troy’s columns on SunSport.
