Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has reportedly held talks with American investors 777 Partners over starting his side's plans for a multi-club operation.
Boehly took over from Chelsea after Roman Abramovich sold the club for £4.25 billion to Boehly and partners Clearlake Capital and Behdad Eghbali last year. The club's new owners want to build something similar to the City Football Group in order to benefit Chelsea's development of players and staff.
The CFG leads the way with Manchester City, New York City, Melbourne City and Girona FC among the clubs it owns. The Red Bull group has also made a name for itself in Europe and beyond with RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.
Boehly has spoken previously about Chelsea's plans to set up a multi-club system. "We’ve talked about having a multi-club model," he said in September.
“I would love to continue to build out the footprint. There are different countries where there are advantages to having a club. Red Bull does a good job. Manchester City has a big network of clubs.
“Our goal is to ensure pathways for our young stars to get on to the Chelsea pitch while getting them real game time. To do that is through another club in a really competitive league in Europe."
Now The Athletic reports that Boehly has held 'discussions' with 777 Partners about setting up a partnership with the firm about a multi-club model. Newcastle United have also been linked with the group, which has stakes in Genoa of Italy, Belgian team Standard Liege and Brazilian outfit Vasco de Gama.
777 Partners are American-based investors who have also struck deals to get involved with Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin and Sevilla in Spain. Indeed, the Hertha deal, which is yet to become official, is said to be worth around £88 million while 777 have also been linked with a move for Everton.
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