Chelsea has confirmed that Clearlake Capital has taken “full control” of the club after completing the purchase of minority stakes held by chairman Todd Boehly and director Mark Walter. The sale ends Boehly’s four-year association with Chelsea, including his role as club chairman, and brings a close to a reported rift within the ownership group.
What Changed
A club statement released Wednesday evening confirmed that Clearlake — led by co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano — has acquired the stakes previously held by Boehly and Walter, both of whom owned 12.8% of the club. Clearlake had previously held 61.5% of Chelsea, and the buyout significantly extends its control over the club’s ownership and governance.
Hansjorg Wyss, the Swiss billionaire who also holds a 12.8% stake, is not part of the sale. Chelsea’s statement confirmed Wyss “will remain an important stakeholder and partner in the ownership group.”
The club emphasized that the change in ownership structure won’t affect how Chelsea is run day to day. “There will be no changes to the day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy at the Club,” the statement read.
The deal is reported to be worth around £1 billion and brings the club’s overall valuation close to £5 billion. Both Boehly and Walter are said to have made a modest profit on their original investments.
Why Now
Boehly and Clearlake originally teamed up in 2022 to lead the £2.3 billion ($3 billion) purchase of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch sanctioned by the UK government that March over alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin — a connection Abramovich has denied. As part of that original agreement, members of the ownership consortium were barred from selling their shares to outside buyers for ten years, which is why the stakes ended up back within the group rather than going to a new investor.
Reports of a possible sale first surfaced in August, with BBC Sport reporting that Boehly and Walter were exploring the move, and The Athletic reporting last week that both sales were close to completion. Multiple sources say tension within the ownership group first became apparent in 2024, driven partly by disagreements between Boehly and Eghbali over the future of Stamford Bridge — specifically, whether to redevelop the existing site or build a new stadium elsewhere. That decision may now move more quickly with Clearlake in full control.
What Was Said
Chelsea’s statement credited Boehly’s role in stabilizing the club during a turbulent ownership transition: “In 2022, Todd Boehly and Clearlake joined together to lead the historic acquisition of Chelsea – successfully navigating an unprecedented period of uncertainty imposed by outside political events – and Todd organised his chairmanship with an unwavering commitment to this ownership group’s fundamental belief that the supporters are at the heart of everything the club does.”
Boehly, for his part, struck a reflective tone in his own statement. “It has been an honour to serve as chairman of Chelsea Football Club,” he said. “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.”
Eghbali and Feliciano thanked Boehly for his “time and contribution” as chairman, adding that he will “always be a part of the Chelsea story and family.” They said Clearlake’s focus going forward 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.”
Chelsea’s Record Under the Boehly-Clearlake Era
Since the 2022 takeover, Chelsea‘s best Premier League finish has been fourth place, in the 2024-25 season — a campaign that also saw the club win the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup. The team finished 10th in the Premier League last season and appointed Xabi Alonso as manager over the summer. The ownership group’s early strategy leaned heavily on signing young players to long-term contracts, contributing to a notably high turnover of players across the past four years.
Boehly and Walter’s Wider Business Dealings
Beyond Chelsea, Boehly and Walter are co-owners of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers. Walter, who is also co-owner and chief executive of global finance firm Guggenheim Partners — where Boehly began his own financial career — sold his majority stake in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers last month to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger in a deal valuing the franchise at a record $12.5 billion. That sale came against the backdrop of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Walter’s business dealings, with federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly investigating companies within his broader business empire.
