American billionaire businessman, Todd Boehly, one of the bidders for Chelsea Football Club who was favoured by the British government has announced the take over of the club on Monday.
In a statement issued on the club’s website the consortium led by Boehly, chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Clearlake”) completed the ownership and transfer of the club having approved the transactions from the UK government, the Premier League, and other concerned authorities.
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The club also stated that Boehly and Clearlake will share joint control and equal governance of the Club and will serve as Chairman of the holding company according to the terms of the contract.
“We are honoured to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club,” said Boehly. “We’re all in – 100% — every minute of every match. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud.
“Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the Club for the long-term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success. I personally want to thank ministers and officials in the British government, and the Premier League, for all their work in making this happen.”
Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano, Clearlake co-founders and managing partners, said, “We are excited to commit the resources to continue Chelsea’s leading role in English and global football, and as an engine for football talent development. We also want to thank the authorities for all their work throughout the process.
“As pioneers in sports and media investing, we are thrilled to partner with Todd and the rest of the consortium to meaningfully grow the Club as a global platform. Together, we will expand the Club’s investment across infrastructure, technology, and sports science to support the incredible Chelsea football and commercial teams – all with the goal of leveraging this growth to fuel even more on-pitch success.”
Recall on Saturday that the former owner, Roman Abramovich gave a farewell speech to the staff and players of the club expressing satisfaction on the successful takeover.
Abramovich gave up ownership of the club just before the UK government sanctioned the club in the heart of military action in Ukraine by Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The move by the UK was a retaliation on Putin’s attack on Ukraine where thousands of civilians have died.
Chelsea were restricted from selling or buying players since March as a result of sanction.
