Under pressure Todd Boehly could be REPLACED as Chelsea chairman as incredible deal agreed by billionaire owners leaked
TODD BOEHLY could be REPLACED as Chelsea chairman as part of an incredible deal, according to a new report.
The American has held that position since he and Clearlake Capital bought the Stamford Bridge club in 2022.
He has authorised a whopping transfer spend of over £1billion with only a Carabao Cup final loss to show for his huge outlay.
Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter have both been sacked as manager during that period while last summer’s appointment of Mauricio Pochettino has failed to bring about a transformation on the pitch.
However, Boehly may not hold his role as chairman for the long-term after explosive details of an extraordinary written agreement were revealed.
The Telegraph states that Chelsea’s owners can pass the chairmanship between them every five years due to the deal including an option for them to share it.
Clearlake Capital is owned by Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, and they “will have the opportunity to nominate their own representative in 2027”.
The publication stresses that the agreement is an option and not an obligation and that Boehly, who part owns the LA Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks, could stay as chairman for another five years from 2027.
That would be if Clearlake opted against taking over – but if they did then Boehly would need to wait until 2032 to reclaim the role.
The news comes amid growing criticism of Boehly’s running of Chelsea while other reports have claimed that Eghbali’s influence at Stamford Bridge has “increased dramatically” over the past year.
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However, the 50-year-old “has no plans to pass up the chairmanship early” amid the backlash from pundits and supporters.
Both Eghbali and Feliciano have opted to work away from the spotlight so far with the Premier League giants.
Eghbali is believed to be more hands-on in the day-to-day running of the Blues but any big decisions still need each man to sign off on it.
The Telegraph also say that they have the “details of how the money and power is split” at Chelsea, who have never officially revealed the full breakdown of shares following the takeover.
They claim that private equity fund Clearlake Capital owns 60 per cent of the shares and voting rights in 22 Holdco, the UK-based company behind Chelsea
Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter have an equal split of the remaining 40 per cent.
And Boehly, Eghbali and Feliciano are also all allegedly listed “as a person of significant control”.
The 13 per cent stake of Boehly’s is entirely privately funded by his own cash.
The pair of Eghbali and Feliciano are reported to have smaller personal stakes within Clearlake’s 60 per cent fund.
It does seem, however, that Boehly has no plans of going anywhere soon.
This fresh update states that he often speaks to business associates “about the next 20-plus years at Chelsea”.
While it adds that “external experts feel that Eghbali and Feliciano have more pressure on them to achieve quick results” from investors.
Who owns Chelsea and how much?
Here's how the Telegraph claims that the ownership of Chelsea is split:
Clearlake Capital (funded by Behdad Eghbali Jose Feliciano) – 60 per cent
Todd Boehly (Chairman) – 13 per cent
Hansjorg Wyss – 13 per cent
Mark Walter – 13 per cent
The news of Boehly’s potential loss of the chairmanship comes after SunSport revealed the American businessman was facing nightmare choices over Stamford Bridge.
We reported how bosses believe they have only two options — spend SIX YEARS away from Stamford Bridge while it is redeveloped, or pay over the odds to buy land and build elsewhere.
There is growing frustration inside the club that little progress has been made since they arrived nearly two years ago.