Rumors of a split in Chelsea’s American power base, strongly denied by club officials, have circulated around Stamford Bridge for months.
And today’s Mail Sport exclusive, which reveals Chelsea will appoint a new chairman to replace the criticized Todd Boehly in 2027, will do little to dispel them.
However, the reality is that – thanks to the extraordinary agreement reached by Boehly and majority shareholders Clearlake Capital – a change was always likely to occur five years after the acquisition.
When the £4.25bn deal to buy the club from Roman Abramovich was sealed, Boehly and fellow investors Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter took a 38.5 per cent stake.
Clearlake, the California private equity firm managed by fellow owners Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano, took 61.5 percent.
Chelsea will appoint a new president in 2027 to replace Todd Boehly, Mail Sport understands
Boehly (left) became a co-owner of Chelsea in 2022 after joining a consortium alongside private equity firm Clearlake Capital, which included Behdad Eghbali (right).
Your browser does not support iframes.
All parties agreed to a clause according to which the president could be changed every five years. But the reason minority investors had to “go first” when it came to arranging an appointment is thanks to the way the deal was structured.
It can be revealed that Boehly’s group owns what is known as “common stock”, while Clearlake has “preferred stock”, which carries greater protection against any financial downside.
As a result, Boehly and company elected the first president and Boehly himself, who became interim athletic director in a hectic first season, accepted the position and became the face of the acquisition.
Since then, the minority shareholder has had to bear the brunt of the considerable criticism leveled at the group. It was Boehly, for example, and not the others, who was mocked in a Fantasy Football sketch and it was Boehly’s name that was chanted by angry fans (along with an expletive) during a 2-2 draw at Brentford earlier in this month.
Amid that backdrop, the revelation that a new president – potentially Eghbali or Feliciano and definitely a Clearlake appointment – will arrive within three years could be seen as a sign of unhappiness and a desire to move in a different direction.
However, it is highly unlikely that that will be the case. Even though he is no longer president, Boehly would retain his involvement. He would also have Eghbali’s approval on any major decisions, as has been the case since the deal was signed. If he so desired, he could return to office in 2032.
After a hectic introduction, which included the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and the hiring and firing of Graham Potter, Boehly has taken a backseat this season. As a result, there is a sense of irony that such a move has coincided with the avalanche of criticism directed at him.
The 2027 shift perhaps paints a more complex picture of the dynamics involved, but insiders say it would be a mistake to see it as a vote of no confidence or an indicator of a failed relationship, but rather as an inevitability, thanks to the terms of the deal. .
Boehly has taken the brunt of criticism from fans for the team’s woeful league campaign.
Maurico Pochettino’s side sit 11th in the Premier League despite an extraordinary outlay on players in recent transfer windows.
While Eghbali has had the lower public profile of the pair, he has been heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the club and has also been seen more frequently than Boehly at Stamford Bridge this season.
Both have reason to feel hurt by the stinging attacks of an angry fan base who have recently seen stickers depicting them and Feliciano as clowns placed on the concourse of at least one Stamford Bridge stand.
As Mail Sport columnist and former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan pointed out, Chelsea have been in a final, are in a semi-final and are not out of the race for a place in Europe. They currently sit in 11th place, but are five points behind West Ham in seventh place with two games in hand.
While each club plays by the same rules, they have also had bad luck with injuries to key players. Currently, no less than nine first-team players are on the sidelines. Long-term absences such as Reece James and Wesley Fofana have made an impact, while Romeo Lavia, signed in the summer from Southampton for £58m, has made just one appearance and has now been ruled out for the rest of the season.
The group admits they have made mistakes, but the truth is that they have spent £1 billion of their own money. These are not the Glazers. No dividends have been collected nor have any purchases been leveraged against the club. The goal will ultimately be to make money, but that will only happen if Chelsea become the Chelsea they want them to be.
Boehly has been rumored to have a longer-term focus and that Eghbali and Feliciano are under pressure from investors for a quicker return. However, people close to Clearlake say that is not the case and insist they will also be in west London for the long term.
Lately there is also talk of a lowering of expectations. But insiders say the co-owners are aghast at such a suggestion. Regardless of who is president, Chelsea’s goal remains to win games, play in the Champions League and bring trophies to Stamford Bridge.
Apart from the expensive team formed, enormous resources have been invested in recruitment. Committed spending on data, scouting, sports science and performance will be around ten times greater than during Roman Abramovich’s reign.
The expectation is that in 2027 the priorities and strategy will likely remain broadly the same. Recruitment will primarily focus on bringing the best young talent on the planet to west London.
Boehly has been rumored to have a longer-term focus and that Behdad Eghbali (pictured) and José Feliciano are under pressure from investors to deliver a quicker return.
Despite their poor league form, Chelsea reached the final of the Carabao Cup and are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
The view is that the heavy lifting has been done and that the slew of senior executive appointments will be well on their way. Success on the field should now follow. It is a vision that the club’s fans hope will come true.
A lot of work has also been done on Chelsea’s commercial operation. Under Abramovich, the view was that every month the oligarch would write a check to cover debts and everything would be fine.
Since then, football has changed, thanks in large part to the rules of profitability and sustainability. Chelsea have dramatically underperformed when it comes to raising off-field revenue. Now they have set goals and the goal is to quickly increase their commercial position among the best clubs on the planet.
Three years is a long time. All parties hope Chelsea will be in a better position in 2027, when the new president takes office. In fact, the post may be seen as less of a poisoned chalice and the ‘Three Ring Circus’ tag, which fans used on those stickers, may well have disappeared from town.