Chelsea ‘on brink of civil war’ with Boehly, Clearlake ownership ‘at breaking point’

There are fears of ‘civil war’ breaking out at Chelsea with Todd Boehly’s relationship with Clearlake Capital ‘reaching breaking point’, according to a report.

It was reported on Friday night that the relationship between Boehly and Behdad Eghbali is ‘deteriorating’ and this has now been backed up by Telegraph Sport journalist Matt Law.

Chelsea ‘civil war’ incoming as Boehly, Eghbali scrap for full ownership

Law responded to that report shortly after it came to light, stating that Clearlake has no intention of selling the club, only increasing their stake.

On Saturday afternoon, the Chelsea expert reported that there are ‘fears of a civil war’ at Stamford Bridge as Boehly’s relations with Clearlake ‘reaches breaking point’.

It is claimed that the American billionaire is hoping to buy Clearlake’s shares in the club and is ‘confident he can raise sufficient capital’, which is over £2.5 billion.

Unfortunately for him, Clearlake are ‘adamant they will not sell’ – which makes a civil war likely.

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Law says that both parties are ‘prepared to buy each other out’, though any offers are likely to fall on deaf ears.

Having said that, the most likely outcome, if the ownership changes, is that Boehly and his Blues partners, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter, will buy Clearlake’s majority stake and assume 100 per cent of the club.

The report states:

As reported by Telegraph Sport, Clearlake are adamant they will not sell any of their 61.5 per cent stake and will not allow Chelsea to go up for auction again – just over two years since Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club.

It has now emerged that Boehly believes he can quickly raise over £2.5 billion to make an offer to Clearlake that would also give Chelsea’s majority shareholder a profit on their initial investment

Investors are said to be ready to back Boehly, who is believed to have a 20 to 30-year vision in Chelsea, which would include a new stadium. But an offer, however big, could fall on deaf ears if Clearlake maintain their not-for-sale stance.

Clearlake view their investment in Chelsea as a decade-plus commitment and want to increase their stake, while Boehly sees his involvement as lasting up to three decades.

Following a cultural divide opening up between Chelsea’s owners, Boehly has come to the conclusion that the current structure has become untenable and that a resolution needs to be found as quickly as possible.

Boehly, Wyss and Walter currently own 38.5 per cent of the club and ‘there is no prospect of Boehly selling his stake on its own to Eghbali and Feliciano, which means Clearlake would also have to buy out Wyss and Walter at a total cost of more than £1.5 billion, accounting for each man making a profit’.

On the relationship between Boehly and Eghbali, it is said that claims they are still professional with each other are wide of the mark, with ‘irreconcilable differences in opinion over the direction of travel and culture of the club’.

Boehly is currently Chelsea chairman and there is an agreement to pass the chairmanship every five years.

Clearlake reportedly plan to ‘nominate their own representative to take the chairmanship at the earliest opportunity in 2027, but it now seems certain that the ownership structure will change before then’.

Chelsea Football Club. What a mess.

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