Chelsea’s power dynamics shift as Todd Boehly exits ownership

Clearlake Capital now owns all of Chelsea Football Club. The private equity firm, co-founded by Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano, completed its acquisition of the minority stakes held by Todd Boehly and Mark Walter on September 16, ending a partnership that had been quietly unraveling for the better part of two years. Boehly and Walter, who each held 12.8% of the club, received approximately £950 million combined for their shares. That values Chelsea at roughly £5 billion including debt, a figure that would have seemed fantastical when the consortium originally purchased the club from sanctioned former owner Roman Abramovich in 2022 for between £2.3 billion and £2.5 billion. Boehly also steps down as chairman, a role he assumed during the original takeover. A divorce that was a long time coming The split didn’t happen overnight. Reported tensions between Boehly, Walter, and Clearlake surfaced as early as 2024, with disagreements centering on two of the most consequential decisions any football club owner faces: what to do with the stadium and how to run the sporting side of the operation. Buyout discussions reportedly began by August 2026 before the deal was finalized weeks lat...