Chairman Todd Boehly is reportedly considering selling his shares in Chelsea, having spent more than four times what Liverpool have on transfers since taking charge in 2022.
Chelsea’s instability began after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to the club’s previous owner, Roman Abramovich, being forced to sell due to his assets being frozen because of his ties to President Vladimir Putin.
A consortium led publicly by Boehly then completed a £4.25 billion takeover, putting the club in a financially uncertain situation.
Since the new owners took over in 2022, Chelsea has spent over £1.2 billion on transfers and secured multiple players on lucrative long-term contracts.
In contrast, Liverpool have spent less than a quarter of that amount during the same period. According to Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports, Boehly is now considering selling his shares.
Although Boehly is the public face of Chelsea’s ownership, he is not the majority shareholder; that title belongs to Clearlake Capital, which owns 61.5% of the club, while Boehly holds just under 13%.
Bloomberg reports that Boehly’s relationship with Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali has deteriorated in recent months.
The same outlet mentions that Boehly and Clearlake are evaluating the possibility of buying each other out.
However, Sky Sports clarifies that Clearlake Capital is not currently in talks to sell shares and is not under any pressure to do so.
Sky Sports also notes that the relationship between Eghbali and Boehly remains professional, with Clearlake believing that, after a period of upheaval, they now have the right structure and squad to return the club to its former glory.
Mauricio Pochettino left Chelsea by mutual consent at the end of last season after just one year in charge, despite signs of improvement in the latter part of the campaign.
Enzo Maresca was appointed as Pochettino’s successor, and Chelsea brought in 10 new players, including injury-prone Pedro Neto on a seven-year contract and Joao Felix for the same length of time.
With only four points from their first nine games, Maresca will need to secure results quickly to remain in charge under the current ownership.
Liverpool will face Chelsea at Anfield on October 20 in the Premier League.
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