Chelsea news as Todd Boehly success with LA Dodgers leads the way for Stamford Bridge transformation
When Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital purchased Chelsea for £4.25billion ($5.3billion) - a price split across a lump sum and future investments to come - the club were reigning world and European champions. They had a core of young, academy grown players with an elite, esteemed and respected manager.
Chelsea are starting with a young team, the youngest in the division, but not one that is cohesive or close to being the finished article despite the monumental and record shattering sums spent to construct it. For Boehly, who also has a key role in MLB giants LA Dodgers, this process hasn't been smooth.
His level of power at Chelsea is enhanced compared to other ventures; his role is more public and the scrutiny is undoubtedly greater. He has no experience of European football or the soccer market in general, and has been told as much on countless occasions after an abysmal first season in England.
Many believed that the stereotype of tight American owners would stop Boehly and Co from spending too much on new players or unleashing untapped potential at Chelsea, as has been the criticism of the Glazers and FSG in ventures at Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.
For a historic franchise it was an immense drop off from glory days in the 70s and 80s, their last sustained period of dominance before the ownership changed their fortunes. In the 11 years since Guggenheim and Boehly took control, Dodgers have won nine west division titles, finally claiming a World Series in 2020, as well as winning the National League pennant on three occasions.
Progress towards the final goal was slow but consistent and came after Boehly was able to add infrastructure and key directors to the team. For Chelsea, they are hoping to do similarly. With plans to play the long game, generating a close-knit team spirit on incentivised, long contracts, the logic is there but it is yet to be done in football.
The benefits, should it work, are clear. The Dodgers are ranked as the 25th most valuable sports side in the world and the second when it comes to MLB teams, behind only the famous New York Yankees. On a newly-revealed list of the top 50 most valuable franchises and clubs from Forbes, the Dodgers are amongst the elite.
Valued at £3.8billion ($4.8billion), over double the £1.72billion ($2.15billion) paid by Guggenheim to buy them, the Dodgers have risen in their rankings since 2022 and have an impressive 60% value increase across five years. They are one of just three MLB sides inside the top 50, with Boston Red Sox 32nd, and are proving to be more than worth their money.
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Paris-Saint Germain are the only football clubs, showing the importance of European and Champions League success. The competition is a huge source of revenue, as, it seems, is domestic dominance.
As a global brand, the Red Devils are perhaps the outlier in the list. They provide an example for Chelsea to match, one that has already been proved achieveable by Boehly and his methods elsewhere, but now the goal is translate that into a new market, a new sport and new pressure.
Chelsea had been inside the top 50 this time last year but dropped out due to the rapidly emerging Formula One market. Led by Mercedes and Ferrari, the motorsport is the fastest growing sport on the planet according to Forbes and saw Chelsea displaced.
This should be used as a point of positivity for the new owners, though. The club they took over were well placed despite mistakes and arguably often careless planning, at least when it comes to these results. Even though staffing, methods and turnover were all in a questionable place, the relatively consistent place amongst football's best clubs in Europe and the Premier League had left them in a solid state.
Boehly will be hoping that with extra care and thought - not two things that are immediately associated with his first 12 months at the club - that these areas can be massively enhanced to bring long-term results.
Under Pochettino the Blues now feel that they have someone truly capable of doing such a thing and the owners themselves are learning on the job, not a matter aimed to create excuses but more one of simple reality, no matter how tough it is to stomach.
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