Fans call Boehly a circus clown... but job change doesn’t mean he’ll be leaving town
CHELSEA will appoint a new chairman in 2027 to replace Todd Boehly, Mail Sport understands. As part of an extraordinary agreement, the club’s American co-owners can pass the chairmanship between themselves every five years — and it can be revealed the intention is to do just that at the end of the 2026-27 season.
Chelsea insiders have insisted the move is not reflective of a breakdown in relations between Boehly and 61.5 per cent majority stakeholders Clearlake Capital, a Californian private equity firm. They say the switch was always going to happen due to the unusual arrangement. Clearlake managers Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano will either step into the role or pick a replacement.
Rumours of a split in Chelsea’s US power base have swirled around Stamford Bridge for months. The club denies them, of course, but Mail Sport’s revelation that Chelsea will appoint a new chairman to replace the under-fire Boehly in 2027 will do little to dispel them.
However, the reality is that, thanks to the extraordinary agreement struck by Boehly with majority stakeholders Clearlake Capital, a change five years after the takeover was always likely.
When the deal to buy the club from Roman Abramovich for £4.25billion was sealed in May 2022, Boehly and fellow investors Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter took a 38.5 per cent stake and Clearlake, the Californian private equity firm managed by fellow owners Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, took 61.5 per cent.
All parties agreed to a clause in which the chairman could be changed every five years, and the reason the minority investors got to appoint one of their people first is because of how the agreement is structured. It can be disclosed that Boehly’s group hold what is known as ‘common stock’ whereas
Clearlake have ‘preferred stock’, which gives greater protection against any financial downside.
As a result Boehly and co got to choose the first chairman and Boehly himself — who became interim sporting director in a hectic first season at Chelsea — took the gig and became the face of the takeover.
Since then the 50-year-old has had to take the majority of the flak flying in the group’s direction. It was Boehly, for example, who was mocked in a Fantasy Football League sketch on Sky and it was his name angry supporters chanted during a 2-2 draw at Brentford this month.
Amid that backdrop, the revelation that a new chairman — potentially Eghbali or Feliciano and definitely a Clearlake appointment — will arrive in three years could be viewed as a sign of unhappiness and a desire to move in a different direction. That, however, is highly unlikely.
Even if he were no longer chairman, Boehly would retain his stake. He would also have sign-off with Eghbali on major decisions, as has been the case since the takeover went through. If he wished, he could be chairman again from 2032.
After a hectic introduction, which included the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and the hiring and firing of Graham Potter, Boehly has taken more of a back seat this season. There is a feeling of irony that such a retreat has coincided with the barrage of criticism being aimed at him.
The upcoming change of chairman paints a complex picture of the dynamics involved and insiders say it would be wrong to see it as a vote of no confidence or proof of a failing relationship but more an inevitability.
Although Eghbali has had a smaller public profile than Boehly, he has been heavily involved in the day-to-day running of Chelsea and has been spotted more often than Boehly at Stamford Bridge this season. But both have reason to feel wounded by a stinging attack from supporters that has seen stickers depicting the pair and Feliciano as clowns posted around the concourse of at least one stand at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have been to the Carabao Cup final this season, are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and are not out of the running for a place in Europe. They are 11th in the Premier League but only five points off West Ham in seventh with two games in hand.
They have also been unfortunate with injuries to key players. No fewer than nine first-team stars are on the sidelines at the moment. Long-term absentees such as Reece James and Wesley Fofana have been missed and Romeo Lavia, signed in the summer from Southampton for £58m, has made just one appearance and is out for the rest of the season.
The club’s ownership group admit to making mistakes but the fact remains they have spent £1bn of their own money. This is not the Glazers; no dividends have been taken and no buyout has been leveraged against the club.
The aim, eventually, will be to make money but that will only happen if Chelsea become the Chelsea they want them to be. It has been rumoured Boehly has a more long-term approach and that Eghbali and Feliciano are under pressure from investors to deliver a speedier return. However, those close to Clearlake say that is not the case and insist they are also in west London for the long-term.
Aside from the expensively assembled squad, vast resources have also been poured into recruitment. The committed spend on data, scouting, sports science and performance will be close to 10 times what was spent during the Abramovich reign.
The expectation is that in 2027 the group’s priorities and strategy will be broadly the same. Recruitment will focus mainly on the planet’s best young talent but the view is that the heavy lifting there has been done, and that the host of senior executive appointments will be well into their stride. It is thought success on the field should now follow.
Chelsea have been dramatically underperforming when it comes to raising revenues off the field. Now, targets have been set and the aim is to rapidly increase their position commercially.
Three years is a long time and all parties will hope Chelsea are in a better position in 2027 when a new chairman steps into the role. The post may be seen as less of a poisoned chalice then and the ‘Three Ring Circus’ label that fans used on those stickers may well have left town.
Even if Boehly is not chairman he would have a say in major decisions