Meet Todd Boehly, the front-runner to purchase Chelsea

It is no longer news that Chelsea Football Club has been put up for sale. At first, the sale was a way for Roman Abramovich to offset his assets in Great Britain amidst threats of sanctions due to Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Russia’s sovereign neighbor, Ukraine. However, the oligarch has now been hit with those sanctions due to his ties with the Russian President and his speedy sale is seen solely as a way to keep the club afloat during this unprecedented period.

There are several businessmen who have shown a desire to buy the Blues that made The Raine Group’s shortlist last week as the interested parties were cut from a few hundred to just four. Several individuals have indicated their serious in purchasing the prestigious club and their willingness to take over by the end of next month. One such man is American mogul, Todd Boehly. There has obviously been a lot said over the last couple of weeks about each bidder, but seeing as Boehly’s consortium is favorited to take over, it’s time to take a look at who he is as a person.

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Taking a deep dive into Chelsea’s leading bidder, American Todd Boehly

A former wrestler back in his school days, Boehly has risen through the ranks in the business industry, overseeing the running of several enterprises during this period. He is currently the co-founder, chairman, CEO and controlling member of Eldridge Industries. This is in addition to being the current interim CEO of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (as of October 2021).

In the sports world, Boehly owns 20% of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a baseball team based in the United States. Ahead of the 2021 season, the Dodgers have paid the highest luxury tax and also forked out the most in wages to their players. The historic franchise had a $285 million (£212 million) payroll last year, which is the second highest in MLB history, behind its own record of $291 million (£217 million) back in 2015. Boehly is also a part owner of numerous other franchises in California, including the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Sparks (WNBA).

This is not the businessman’s first venture into football either. Very recently, he was in the market to snap up the Washington Spirit, who plays in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). He was heading an ownership group that held exclusive negotiations to purchase a controlling interest in the club in December 2021. A month later, it was revealed that he had withdrawn from negotiations for unknown reasons. Boehly has also previously tried purchasing a football club in Europe. In 2019, he came close when he made a bid for Tottenham. According to The Athletic, he was in advanced negotiations to buy the club for about £2.3 billion, although the deal fell through with Daniel Levy retaining ownership.

Boehly also previously led one of the largest collateralized loan obligation transactions in history with a total amount of over $1 billion. That means he has taken out a loan to buy the franchise, using the franchise’s money to pay for the loan. This reminds us of what the Glaziers did with Manchester United, which has seen the ownership group come under fire from their fans, though the loan obligation was a fraction of what Boehly’s was at the time.

There are mixed feelings as this could spell danger as Chelsea fans have been so used to Abrahamovich’s spending at the club rather freely. It has been reported that whoever purchases Chelsea could complete a deal before the next month is over.

Do you think Boehly deserves a shot at owning Chelsea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!