Chelsea FC’s new owner-in-waiting, Todd Boehly, an American financial and media executive, had to charm sporting and political power brokers earlier this year to triumph in one of the most fiercely contested takeovers in the history of football. Pressure on Chelsea’s Russian oligarch owner, billionaire Roman Abramovich, to sell the team to comply with sanctions stemming from the Ukraine invasion suddenly fulfilled the American’s yearslong dream to own the club. Now comes the real challenge: winning trophies without breaking the bank.
Boehly’s acquisition still must overcome last-minute haggling between Abramovich and the UK government over terms that the sale proceeds go to a charity. If it goes through, when the next English Premier League season begins in August, American money will be backing more than half of the 20 competing teams.
US owners have been divisive figures in the EPL. They’ve largely seen their investments grow in the world’s richest football division, but they’ve frustrated hardcore supporters by failing to match the on-field successes of rivals backed by petrodollar billionaires from the East. “American sporting culture is very different to that of the oligarch-sovereign nation culture,” says Roger Mitchell, founder of sports consulting firm Albachiara. “In Europe, owners are not expected to make a profit—and criticized if they do. In the US, it’s set up for owners to make a return on capital. That’s a significant culture clash.”
