Todd Boehly has brushed off fan protests against him and his fellow Chelsea owners, insisting that the opprobrium sent his way in recent weeks is “par for the course.”
Supporters made their dissatisfaction with Clearlake Capital, Boehly and Behdad Eghbali clear for all to see on Tuesday night as an estimated 200 of them gathered outside Stamford Bridge before their side’s 4-0 win over Southampton. Boehly was pictured on a banner clutching a wad of notes amid complaints over his links with ticket reseller Vivid Seats while another banner accused ownership vehicle BlueCo of crimes against Chelsea.
There were also chants for Roman Abramovich, who sold Chelsea to the consortium in the summer of 2022 after being sanctioned by the British government in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His near two decades of ownership brought remarkable success to west London, most notably in the form of two Champions League titles, and major honors have eluded the club since the change of ownership.
Asked how it felt to hear fans chant for Abramovich, whose tenure has come under the microscope since his departure, Boehly told the Financial Times Football Business Summit, “I think it’s par for the course. The reality is the sooner you learn you’re not going to keep all the people happy all the time, freedom shows up from that.
“You’re just trying to get on a plan, execute a plan, recognizing things aren’t linear but as long as you’re trending in the right direction in general you feel better. The trend is in the right direction and that’s the thing that really matters. In June it’ll be three years, that’s not a lot of time, especially in an industry where there’s so little downtime.
“To me, I think it’s a steep learning curve but that’s also a good thing.
“The most misunderstood thing is that we’re thinking about it as measured in years. You’ve got to think short and long-term. We’re focused on the combination of both of them and seeking the best possible way to execute on that. It’s a balancing act in order to figure out how to do it. Strikers are hard to find. You don’t go into the grocery store and get a striker.”
Boehly and his fellow owners have earned a reputation for disrupting market norms in their brief ownership of Chelsea, most notably exploiting a loophole in Premier League rules that allowed them to amortize the contracts of high-profile acquisitions such as Enzo Fernandez well beyond the five-year norm. The 51-year-old acknowledged that there had been a financial upside to it but spoke of the lengthy deals being handed out in terms of building a squad — and leaders — for the long term.
“You’re always focused on how do you keep something together for a very long time,” Boehly said. “That becomes an option that you’re trying to cultivate. You identify what you believe are a number of players that come together and are going to be consistent, reliable and together for a very long time, or have the potential to be.
“When you think about the contracts here you have to recognize that a seven-year contract is really a five-year contract. Ninety-five percent of the time you are going to have to make the decision or you shoot yourself in the foot. You are either able to come to terms and agree an extension or there’s greener pastures out there. That’s the reality of the model. If you deny that, you’re kidding yourself.
“We thought that the longer contracts, not only were we able to amortize, which was a nice side benefit, but what we were really thinking about was how do we put together a team that has the ability to stay together. If you think about the teams that are the dynasties over the years, they had superstar captains that really led them. What you’re trying to find is how do I find that superstar captain.”
Though Boehly offered a confident assessment of his side’s position and plan — though he acknowledged that on the field “December was peak” — all has not been rosy in the corridors of power at Stamford Bridge. Boehly and Eghbali have both harbored ambitions of buying the other out and when asked if the ownership structure would be the same in 12 months’ time, all the former would say is, “I can’t predict the future.” Asked directly about relations between owners, Boehly insisted there had been exaggeration in reports adding, “We’ve agreed on a strategy, we’ve agreed on a way forward.”
Boehly has his own ideas for a broader Premier League vision too, suggesting that clubs should be awarded a share in the competition for every season of their involvement and should keep that upon relegation. As for his own club, he believes progress has already been made.
“If you look at the foundations that are being built: a new management team, new academy leadership, new director leadership, new player mindset, those things are all apparent and there. Now it’s about how do you continue to cultivate the team with the idea that you’re always going to try to get better.
“If you look at the Dodgers [who Boehly co-owns], we won the World Series last year and had an amazing offseason. You can’t rest if you want to really be building something that’s the best. Even if you’re building the best, what are your odds of winning it all every year?”
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