Chelsea found themselves in a financial crisis in the 1980s, and in the last two decades of the 20th century, the team from the English capital played in the second division on more than one occasion.
Not many of the current crop of Chelsea fans might relate the to the hardships, however, for things changed magically in 2003, when a Messiah arrived at the Stamford Bridge, going by the name of Roman Abramovich.
The Russian oligarch made the Blues a powerhouse – not only in England but across the world. Under his ownership, Chelsea won 21 trophies, including two UEFA Champions League titles and one FIFA Club World Cup – glories that the team did not particularly harbour dreams of achieving in the pre-Roman era.
Unfortunately for the Chelsea fans, Abramovich is now all but a chapter in the history books, be it the most illustrious chapter in Chelsea’s records. Owing to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and Abramovich’s alleged involvement in it, the United Kingdom government sanctioned him back in March and also seized all of his assets in the United Kingdom, including Chelsea.
The club was subsequently put up for sale and after successive rounds of bidding and a plethora of rumours, we now know the successor of Abramovich. On Saturday, Chelsea announced that terms have been agreed upon for a takeover by a new ownership group, led by American businessman Todd Boehly.
Check you all you need to know about the new owners of Chelsea:
WHO IS TODD BOEHLY?
Todd Boehly is an American businessman and investor, who is co-founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a holding company, Eldridge Industries. Besides that, Boehly is also the interim CEO of Hollywood.
The 46-year-old did his schooling at a private school in Maryland and he reportedly has always been a fan of sports. He also was the best wrestler in his school at the time and won the prestigious Interstate Athletic Conference Championship on two separate occasions. Such was his influence that his school’s gymnasium is named after him.
After schooling, the investor completed his higher education at the London School of Economics. Boehly started his professional career at Citibank, before moving out to CS First Boston and then to Guggenheim Partners.
It is this stint at Guggenheim Partners which effectively earned him most of his fame, wealth and stature, for he soon became the president of the company. His current company, Eldridge Industries was formed back in 2015 and since then, he has not had to look back.
OTHER SPORTS TEAMS OWNED BY TODD BOEHLY
As mentioned before, Boehly has been an avid fan of sports since his formative years and quite unsurprisingly, he is the owner of quite a few sports teams. The most famous of his sports venture is the Los Angeles Dodgers – a Los Angeles-based Major League Baseball team of which Boehly owns 20%.
Besides the Dodgers, he also owns another team that is based in LA – the Los Angeles Sparks. Sparks are a basketball team that competes in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Boehly is the co-owner of the team alongside many others, the most notable name being that of renowned former basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
In only July of last year, Boehly also acquired minority stakes in one of the most famous basketball teams in the world – the Los Angeles Lakers. Besides that, Boehly also owns the famous esports organization Cloud9.
HOW HAVE OTHER SPORTS TEAMS OWNED BY TODD BOEHLY PERFORMED RECENTLY?
Chelsea loyalists can expect the new owners to do a decent job, not only because of their prior experience in managing multiple sporting organizations but also given the success they have achieved recently.
Los Angeles Dodgers had not won any World Series title since 1988, but things have looked promising for them since Boehly became a co-owner back in 2012. They recently lifted the title after 32 years, back in 2020. Besides that, the Dodgers have also won three National League Pennants and as many as eight West Division titles since 2012.
As for the women’s basketball side, Los Angeles Sparks, Boehly took over back in 2014 and since then, they have qualified for the playoffs in every single season except the last one. Moreover, the Sparks also became the WNBA champions back in 2016, defeating Minnesota Lynx in the final.
WHO ARE THE OTHER KEY FIGURES IN THE CONSORTIUM?
So far, we have spoken in depth about Todd Boehly as it is evident that he is the face of the consortium, but unlike Roman Abramovich, he will not have complete authority over the club.
Boehly’s consortium includes Mark Walter, Jonathan Goldstein, Hansjorg Wyss, Daniel Finkelstein and US-based investment firm Clearlake Capital. Mark Walter is the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Partners and also the co-owner of Los Angeles Dodgers alongside Boehly, where he serves as a part-chairman.
Hansjorg Wyss is a Switzerland-based businessman, who currently is 86 years of age and previously served as the chairman of medical device manufacturer Synthes Holding AG. Jonathan Goldstein is a British entrepreneur and has co-founded the multinational investment firm, Cain International.
Goldstein too is a boyhood football fan, but his name in the list of people involved in this consortium was not accepted well by the Chelsea fans at all, since he happens to be an ardent supporter of Chelsea’s staunch rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. Daniel Finkelstein is a British journalist, who previously served as the executive editor of The Times.
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