A new kind of football club ownership has emerged in English football, one that can be said to have begun with the Glazers’ debt-laden takeover of Manchester United in 2005 and continues to this day with Todd Boehly and his Clearlake Capital Group’s consortium-led takeover of Chelsea following the end of Roman Abramovich’s tenure.
The US ownership boom now includes most of the Premier League’s top-six clubs - the Blues, United, Liverpool and Arsenal - while minority US ownership stakes are held in Manchester City as well as Leeds United and Aston Villa. Crystal Palace have recently joined the ranks of US-owned Premier League teams while Fulham have long been under US ownership themselves. The trend is growing with nine clubs in the English top flight now completely or else partially owned by US entities.
While Abramovich’s spell in charge of the Blues featured hyper competitiveness for the most part - including two Champions League titles and billions lavished on player transfer fees and wages - Boehly’s tenure is now likely to have more in common with what’s happening at the other US-led clubs.
