Todd Boehly is the latest tycoon to be linked with a potential Chelsea takeover bid, with Roman Abramovich announcing he has decided to sell the club.
Abramovich revealed over the weekend that he planned to hand over “stewardship and care” of Chelsea, but that has since hit obstacles amid concerns of the trustees, who have since reported a “serious incident” to the Charity Commission.
Calls for him to have his assets frozen and seized following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are growing. The billionaire oligarch confirmed he is looking for a buyer and will not ask Chelsea to repay him the £1.5bn he has loaned them.
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss claimed he has received an offer to buy the club in recent days.
Boehly has now been put forward as a potential buyer, with the Telegraph reporting that the American is ready to join together with Wyss to register a bid in the coming days.
Here’s some more information on Boehly and his interest in Premier League clubs...
Boehly is chairman of Eldridge Industries, a company formed by purchasing several media properties previously controlled by Guggenheim Partners. Through Eldridge Industries, he had worked with Wyss before.
The American owns a 20% stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, and has had previous interest in Chelsea, as reported by Standard Sport in 2019.
However, a takeover of the club was far more difficult three years ago, with Abramovich not under any pressure to sell and the bid was rejected.
Speaking to Bloomberg in 2019, Boehly made it clear that he had significant interest in investing in a Premier League club.
“Football’s the biggest sport in the world, the passion the fans have for the sport and the teams is unparalleled,” Boehly said.
“So what you are trying to build with these teams, you are really trying to a) win and b) be part of the community.
“The opportunity we had with the Dodgers was really about part-ownership with Los Angeles, how are we going to win, how are we going to drive championships and how are we going to build passion. If you look at what the Premier League offers, it’s all of those things.
“It’s the highest quality play, it’s the best players, and you also have a media market that’s just really developing.
“One of the great things that the Premier League has is that it’s on Saturday morning in America, so you have an uncongested time slot that is now fully dominated.”
Last month, The Athletic claimed that Boehly was showing interest in buying Tottenham, as he continued to try and enter the Premier League market.
It’s also been reported that Boehly was keen on National Women’s Soccer League side Washington Spirit earlier this year, but was unable to strike a deal.
