Soccer execs are questioning how Premier League club Chelsea owners “will make a return on their substantial investment” with the club “at risk of missing out” on a place in next season’s Champions League, according to Samuel Agini of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Chelsea this month reported a $354M (all figures U.S.) pre-tax loss in 2024-25, a record for a Premier League club, as owners Clearlake Capital and financier Todd Boehly “try to wean the club off” former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s millions. A source said that Chelsea’s owners, who committed to invest $2.3B into the club at the outset, still have $1.8B on hand. A source added that Chelsea’s revenue growth is “driven by the club’s participation in the Champions League,” which brought in between $88.4M and $94.2M this season. Clearlake and Boehly bought Chelsea almost three years ago and have since spent about $2B on players, parted ways with four head coaches and have “yet to agree on a critical revenue driver: whether to modernise Chelsea’s existing stadium or move elsewhere.” Chelsea’s home ground is situated on a “small site” in densely populated west London. Redeveloping it would be a “complex project that would probably require the team to temporarily relocate.” Chelsea has “explored a plan to permanently move about a mile up the road” to a new development at Earl’s Court. But the prospects “appear to have diminished” after two councils approved plans at the site that included homes, offices and leisure facilities, without a stadium. A source noted that all options are “still under consideration” (FINANCIAL TIMES, 4/18).
VOICING ANGER: THE ATHLETIC’s Cerys Jones writes just over an hour before kick-off Saturday, ahead of Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United, a crowd began to gather around the corner from Stamford Bridge. Several hundred fans were holding banners and “making their voices heard, their frustration with owners BlueCo,” a consortium led by Boehly and Clearlake Capital, “bubbling into organised action.” Protests have been “fairly rare at Chelsea, and demonstrations against the current ownership,” who have “seemingly struggled to settle on a single message.” But this time “it was clear,” held up on a huge white banner at the front of the march by Chelsea fans and supporters of sister club Strasbourg: “BlueCo Out.” Speaking at CAA’s World Congress of Sports conference in L.A. on Thursday, Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali told Chelsea supporters that BlueCo were “learning from their mistakes and were committed to the club, and hinted that the lessons learned would be shown in future transfer activity” (THE ATHLETIC, 4/20).
