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Roman era ends as Abramovich completes sale of Chelsea FC

By Reuters
Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge Creative Commons: Ben Sutherland
Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge. The club's sale was finalised on Monday
  • Group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake buys Premier League club
  • Boehly is also part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team
  • Chelsea came third in league won by Abu Dhabi-owned Man City

Roman Abramovich has completed the sale of Chelsea FC to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, the Premier League club said on Monday.

The consortium, which won the bid to acquire the London side earlier this month, received approval from the Premier League and the British government last week. A final agreement was reached on Saturday.

Russian owner Abramovich put the club and related companies up for sale in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions on the businessman had also complicated the sale process.

“Mr. Abramovich stipulated that the new owner must be a good steward of the club, the net proceeds of the sale must be donated to charity, and that he would not seek the repayment of loans made to affiliates of the club,” Chelsea FC said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the club said Boehly and Clearlake would share joint control and governance of the club. Boehly, who is part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, will serve as chairman of the holding company.

“We are honoured to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club. We’re all in – 100% – every minute of every match,” Boehly said.

“Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud. Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the club for the long-term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success.

“I personally want to thank ministers and officials in the British government, and the Premier League, for all their work in making this happen.”

Chelsea finished third in the Premier League season just ended – 19 points behind the champions, Manchester City. On May 22, Abu Dhabi-owned City clinched a fourth title in five seasons and the sixth since being bought by Sheikh Mansour in 2008.