Hello, and welcome to Early Doors Football. This is a pretty big one, and admittedly one I never thought I would have to write. Today, I take a look at the events that transpired at Chelsea FC, and how they are now under new ownership. This was a lengthy and dramatic saga, so there is plenty to analyze, both in the present, and looking to the future. Before doing that, I feel like there are a few things I need to get out of the way first.
To begin this prologue of sorts, it is important to realize that I have been a Chelsea fan since I was a child. This drama was quite taxing on me, as I truly worried about my club. Additionally, this topic is looked at through blue tinted glasses, so keep that in mind. I am by no means the only authority on the situation; I am simply providing my perspective on how the events transpired. More importantly, I want to keep this about football as much as I can. We can sit here all day and debate whether Abramovich should have been sanctioned in such a way that affected Chelsea so strongly, but I am not a politician. His past links to Putin are present and difficult for me to stomach, but I hope that his apparent self-distancing from the heinous dictator are true. His alleged works in peace talks bring me some sense that it is true, but as a man who built his wealth thanks to the tyrant, it is more than reasonable to be skeptical of the status of their current relationship.
Although I said that I wanted to keep this about football, that is strictly for the purpose of this article. Political discussions in football, as unsettling and divisive as they may be, are now necessary in the world we live in. I listened to a podcast recently, and there was a statement that I believed summed up the broader situation perfectly. Joe Devine, on the Tifo Football Podcast, was discussing the debate of whether managers should be asked such political questions in press conferences. This time, it was a question posed to Eddie Howe about the Saudi Arabian owners of Newcastle, but the situation can parallel most questions or topics that blur the line between politics in football. Many people take to Twitter to complain that “press conferences should just be about football” and we must “keep politics out of football”. As Joe Devine aptly points out “Well, it was about football, until a State bought a football club!” (Tifo Football Podcast). The tight political relations of some owners cannot be denied, and we are increasingly seeing owners with governmental ties come into the fray. So yes, perhaps we could have just kept politics and football separate 30 years ago, but now we are seeing politicians, states, and those close to world governments use their fortunes to involve themselves in football. The two are becoming more intertwined than I am sure we all like, but it cannot be ignored.
Lastly, I just want to send my thoughts and prayers to those who are affected by this atrocity. It is a travesty that the actions of a few delusional leaders can affect millions of people in such horrific and damaging ways, so all we can do is watch in horror. Hopefully this invasion ends soon, and we can move forward with ensuring such monstrosity does not occur again. After saying all of this it feels a little awkward to move into football chat, but that is what you all are here for, so let's begin!
“You’ll be Sold in the Morning”: Immediate Reactions
Rumors had been rumbling for days about impending sanctions of Roman Abramovich, which understandably led to rumors that he would want to sell the club. Reputable sources suggested he was already looking to sell, but without word from the man himself, no one could be certain. All doubt was cast aside prior to Chelsea’s FA Cup match away to Luton Town, as Abromavich released a statement making it clear he was working to sell the club. He made it clear that he thought this was the best course of action for the club, and ensured fans that the sale would not be fast-tracked.
While the statement did bring some clarity to the situation, it raised a few questions as well. In the press release, he said that he “will not be asking any loans to be repaid”. This may seem straightforward, but the true meaning of this is unclear. Perhaps the club will not be made to repay the loans, which are said to total up to £1.5 billion (The Athletic), but it is plausible to suggest that he will want the new owner to include this in their valuation of the club. With the sale likely to be above £2 billion pounds (over twice the amount of the current highest football club sale), the loan’s inclusion could take the price to atmospheric levels. Additionally, Abramovich instructed his team to create a “charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated”. This is undoubtedly an admirable cause regardless, but net proceeds is rather vague in this context. The Gab and Juls podcast noted that “net proceeds” could mean anything from the profit of the sale to the total sale price. The subsequent sanctions have created even more confusion around this foundation, but we will discuss that more later.
Playing an away match in the FA Cup is cagey enough as is, but the unbelievable amount of media noise and distraction made this a very difficult task. During the match, Kenilworth Road belted out “You’ll be sold in the morning” as their side challenged Chelsea. The Blues narrowly scraped by with a 3-2 win, but it looked like a performance from distracted players. While Chelsea advanced, the tune of “You’ll be sold in the morning” rattled around the minds of all those connected to Chelsea long into the night.
Let the Bidding Begin: Suitors Make Themselves known
In the following days and weeks, it was rumors and leaks galore. Just about everyone that had over a billion dollars was linked to a bid in one way or another. Whether it was Saudi Businessmen, America Franchise Owners, or Conor Mcgregor, there was no shortage of speculation. Slowly but surely, potential suitors began to send murmurs through media outlets to make themselves known. The Saudi Media Group, a consortium led by Mohamed Alkhereiji, was an early favorite among Chelsea fans, simply because of their outrageous net worth.
With limited knowledge about most of the bidders, fans were inclined to favor those with a high net worth. There was one exception to this rule though, and that was the bid led by the Ricketts Family. They made themselves known early in the process, and began to push quite hard to acquire Chelsea. Immediately, they were met with skepticism and pushback. Large Chelsea fan accounts across Twitter helped resurface many questionable statements from family members, which included islamophobic, racist, and sexist statements and news stories. A small social media campaign, known by the hashtag “No To Ricketts” spread across Twitter rapidly, so it was clear what Chelsea fans thought of the consortium. If some of the family members’ discouraging statements were not enough to put you off, the way in which they run the Chicago Cubs should do the job. Now I am no fan of Baseball, but it takes very little knowledge to realize that the Ricketts have run the Cubs poorly. After winning the World Series in 2016, the overall team quality has declined, as they have been reluctant to improve the squad and extend contracts of key players. In addition to that, The Athletic ran a study that shed some light on the costliness of attending a game in Chicago. Among all MLB teams, the Cubs had the second highest projected cost for a family to attend one game. Ironically, the owners complained about “biblical losses” after the pandemic. Apparently these “biblical losses” fixed themselves quite quickly, in order to mount a roughly $4 billion bid for Chelsea. This group is clearly not fit to run a football team.
From the other American coast, LA Dodgers owner Todd Boehly led a consortium that immediately seemed to mean business. They spoke with the Chelsea Pitch Owners and other important groups at the club very quickly, which showed a very serious interest from the group. While many others seemed to toy with the idea, few stepped forward. The investment group that oversaw the sale process, known as The Raine Group, was said to have been approached by around 10 serious bidders. From this, they made their shortlist of bidders. This allowed the selected businessmen to speak with important groups at the club, and eventually improve their bids if necessary. After a month of uncertainty, the ownership picture became clearer.
The Final Four: Who Becomes the Preferred Bidder from the Shortlist
Just like the rest of this process, the shortlist announcement was incohesive. Rather than a formal announcement, Raine decided to brief the bidders one-by-one if they made the shortlist or not. This made for a very awkward day of journalism, as there were significant lapses in time before a bidder was notified and subsequently briefed the media. As long and tedious as this process was, they did get there in the end. After all was said and done, the shortlist was as follows: A consortium led by Todd Boehly, The Ricketts Family Investment Group, a group led by Steven Pagliuca, and a group led by Sir Martin Broughton.
Pagliuca’s bid came from left field, as there was no suggestion he had even made a bid to begin with. This bid never seemed to have a genuine chance of succeeding, and ended up dropping out shortly after. Much to the joy of Chelsea fans, the Ricketts announced that they were pulling out of the process days after being added to the shortlist. They claimed that their decision hinged on the lengthy and confusing bidding process, however, it is likely the massive amount of fan backlash played a role.
The Broughton bid was the only group with significant links to Great Britain, so there were some wondering in the media if this would give them an advantage. On the flipped side, members involved in the bid owned 18% of Crystal Palace. This would add another layer of complexity to the purchasing process. Since the beginning, it always seemed that Boehly’s bid was the favorite. After a little over a month, he was finally announced as the preferred bidder.
Boehly’s Blues: What does the Future Hold?
From my point of view, I believe Boehly was the most worthy candidate, and I am very happy that his bid won. This is partly due to my skepticism of the other bids, but I still think this group has potential to make Chelsea both a fierce footballing side and a well-run business. As I said earlier, I know very little about baseball, but Boehly’s ownership of the LA Dodgers has gone well. Both in terms of business and sports performance, the situation has improved under his ownership.
It is important to note, that while he will be the “face” of the bid, much of the funding will come from the private equity group Clearlake Capital. The Athletic report that Clearlake Capital will own roughly 60% of the club, so they will certainly be involved in the decision-making. Private equities seek profit as well, so it will be quite the change from an owner who poured millions of dollars into the club without a second thought. Those involved believe the club’s finances can be streamlined, which would allow for greater profitability and long-term viability.
The ownership group as a whole has a very difficult summer ahead, no doubt. They will be coming into a team that desperately needs reinforcements, if they hope to be anywhere near Manchester City and Liverpool next season. With little time to prepare for the summer transfer window, it will be a trial by fire for the new ownership. I will be very interested to see what sort of recruitments Chelsea make in the next few years, as it has been said Boehly plans to heavily incorporate data analysis into the club, both on and off the pitch. To me, this sounds similar to the way Liverpool is run: clever recruitments, long-term planning, and smart spending. Seeing their success, one can only hope that their plan can be replicated.
I believe that is everything I have to say, so I will end it there. This entire process has been a bit mad for Chelsea fans, but it seems that we have finally reached a point of stability. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts below, or reach out with any recommendations or feedback. Thank you for reading, and have a great rest of your day.
Comments