Todd Boehly said mistakes had been made in his first year as co-owner of Chelsea FC, as he addressed a room of bankers and associates just days after the club was dumped out of Europe’s elite football competition.
(Bloomberg) — Todd Boehly said mistakes had been made in his first year as co-owner of Chelsea FC, as he addressed a room of bankers and associates just days after the club was dumped out of Europe’s elite football competition.
The US businessman was speaking at a private event at the English football club’s Stamford Bridge stadium in west London on Thursday night, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing details of the gathering. Boehly did not elaborate on the mistakes during the event, which was billed as a chance to hear the American talk about his exciting plans for Chelsea next season, they said.
Among those in attendance was Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker Anthony Gutman, the people said. Goldman Sachs was one of the banks that worked on Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital’s £4.25 billion ($5.3 billion) takeover of Chelsea last year. Spokespeople for Chelsea and Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while Boehly couldn’t be reached for comment.
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Boehly has endured a disappointing start to life in English football. He’s overseen about half a billion pounds worth of player purchases intended to help Chelsea compete for major trophies in England and Europe. But the club has struggled for goals on the pitch and is set to end the season without silverware and little prospect of qualifying for European competitions.
On Tuesday, Chelsea lost 0-2 to Spain’s Real Madrid CF to exit the lucrative UEFA Champions League tournament. That followed a string of poor performances that have left the club in the bottom half of the English Premier League. Boehly has already sacked two managers — Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter — since taking charge, adding to the feeling of instability at Chelsea.
While fans have so far largely put the blame on players and coaches, there have been signs of this changing; Boehly was seen remonstrating with angry supporters during Chelsea’s recent 1-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion FC. Current and former players, including defender Thiago Silva, have also started calling for a clearer strategy.
This is all a far cry from the successes enjoyed by the club under its previous owner, the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who was forced to sell Chelsea after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
Thursday’s event at Stamford Bridge had originally been scheduled for fall 2022. It was postponed because it ended up clashing with the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
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