Chelsea are considering selling a minority stake in their women’s team amid interest from potential investors.
The Blues are believed to have received at least two offers but neither have been accepted. Chelsea value their women’s side at more then £150million.
Co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are not seeking the sale of the women’s team - which has won four straight Women’s Super League (WSL) titles - in its entirety.
They are instead seeking to raise capital to invest in infrastructure and promotion of the team, including finding solutions as they outgrow their stadium at Kingsmeadow.
Chelsea could look to replicate the ownership structure of French giants Lyon, who are owned by parent company OL Group, which bought a controlling stake in Seattle Reign in 2020.
Chelsea have begun building a multi-club model in the men’s game and could emulate that in women’s football with further clubs in North America and Europe. The idea is to grow the Chelsea Women brand outside of the UK into new markets.
Potential investors consider Chelsea’s valuation high, but the club has been benchmarked against a search for investment at Angel City, the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) most valuable club in the United States, which began fundraising with a £144m valuation in March.
When Chelsea were purchased for £2.5billion by Boehly and Clearlake in 2022, they said investing in the women’s team was one of the “key areas” they were targeting.
Chelsea are fighting for a fifth straight WSL title and face Tottenham and Manchester United in two final away matches before Emma Hayes leaves to coach the US women’s national team.
During her 12-year spell in charge, Chelsea have become the most successful English club in the early WSL era, winning five of the last six league titles.
