In mid-July, an agent seeking to break an impasse in a transfer not involving Chelsea had an unusual idea: “Let’s call Todd Boehly.”
The player in question was in advanced talks to move to another Premier League club, but negotiations had stalled for some time over his valuation. Chelsea had previously shown no interest despite many of Europe’s top sides closely monitoring the situation, but the Blues had been linked with so many players at the time that the agent thought Boehly, who had extended his role as new co-owner and chairman to act as interim sporting director following the club’s takeover, was worth a try.
Boehly didn’t even negotiate. After being informed of the asking price — a considerable sum north of £15 million, left vague here to maintain the player’s anonymity — Boehly agreed almost instantly in principle to both the valuation and proposed personal terms. What followed was a series of internal meetings led by Boehly, coach Thomas Tuchel and co-owner Behdad Eghbali at which a final assessment of the player was made. In the end, Tuchel was not quite convinced and Chelsea did not follow through.
The player is now at a rival English club, but this example is a snapshot of Chelsea’s latest transfer window, the first under Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s ownership. It was a summer in which they were playing catch-up from the start, enduring a series of frustrations amid accusations of naivety, but ended with nine signings totaling more than £250 million.
According to Deloitte’s sports business group, Chelsea spent more than any other Premier League club in a record-breaking summer for the division — its overall outlay reached £1.9 billion. The eye-watering sums evoked memories of Roman Abramovich’s first summer back in 2003, when Chelsea splurged £121.5m on 14 players as the club made a powerful statement of intent. The methodology may have been different, but in many ways, the aim this year was something similar.
Abramovich’s ownership came to an abrupt and acrimonious end as sanctions imposed upon him by the UK government resulting from alleged ties to Vladimir Putin essentially triggered the sale of Chelsea earlier this year. Despite this most ignominious of ends, there remain significant swathes of the Blues’ fan base who are willing to revere Abramovich by separating his sporting contribution from his political influence.
He built a relentless, remorseless winning machine: no English club won more than the 21 trophies amassed during his tenure lasting nearly 19 years. A culture where second place was rarely tolerated had its roots in Abramovich’s cash. Money was no obstacle to dismissing an underperforming manager or upgrading a faltering player. There was no tomorrow.
