After four years of a complicated and increasingly awkward co-ownership, the “Boehly-Clearlake Consortium” (which would be renamed BlueCo to make things easier) are now comprised of “just” Clearlake Capital (and also Hansjörg Wyss with his small stake).
As announced today officially by the club, Clearlake have bought out Todd Boehly and Mark Walter to acquire “full control” of Chelsea. With Wyss owning just a little over 10 per cent, that gives Clearlake nearly 90 per cent ownership of the club (87.17%
to be exact).
The news broke last month that Boehly and Walter were in talks to sell their shares in the club, though the relationship between the controlling partners had become fraught much earlier than that. There was talk of a buyout last year already, though at that time, it was unclear which side would “win”. And though Boehly had been the face of the operation since the very start — and subject to all the memes — his influence and power at the club started waning after those first six months when he tried to cosplay as the sporting director.
“Todd has been an important partner throughout our ownership of Chelsea, and we thank him for his time and contribution as Chairman. He will always be a part of the Chelsea story and family. Clearlake has served as Chelsea’s majority owner since 2022, and as we move to full control our focus is to continue investing in the Club’s infrastructure, sporting performance, player development and delivering long-term success for Chelsea and the Club’s supporters.”
-Behdad Eghbali (and José E. Feliciano), source: Chelsea FC
In effect, this changes very little — if anything — in terms of how the club is run and how we go about doing business. Clearlake basically had full control already; it’s just official now. That said, it is unclear who will be the Chairman, the title that Boehly still held officially.
“It has been an honour to serve as Chairman of Chelsea Football Club. I would like to thank the many who helped secure a bright future for the Club, including the English Premier League, the coaches and players, the talented leadership and staff at Chelsea, and the legions of dedicated fans. I have valued my partnership with Clearlake and the wider ownership group, and the collective decisions and investment we have made to support the immediate and long-term success of the Club. I am confident that Chelsea is well positioned for continued success under Clearlake’s leadership.”
-Todd Boehly; source: Chelsea FC
So, yeah. So long, and thanks for all the fish, Todd (and silent Mark). Sorry we couldn’t implement your 4-4-3 formation or All-Star Game ideas.
