Boehly and Walter discuss selling Chelsea stakes
Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly and director Mark Walter are discussing a potential sale of their stakes in the club to majority shareholder Clearlake Capital.
Talks within the Stamford Bridge hierarchy follow tensions between the co-owners that first emerged in 2024, prompting both factions to assess buy-out options.
Clearlake, led by co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, holds a 61.5% controlling stake and could now move to buy out the minority investors completely.
Boehly and Walter each retain a 12.8% shareholding and have valued the club at £5bn, which would net them roughly £640m apiece in any agreement. Swiss investor Hansjorg Wyss also holds a 12.8% stake, though his intent remains unclear.
Walter, chief executive of financial giant Guggenheim Partners, recently concluded a record $12.5bn (£9.23bn) sale of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.
Boehly remains chairman for now but is due to step down at the end of the current campaign under a planned handover agreement established when the consortium purchased the club from Roman Abramovich for £2.3bn in 2022.
The move marks a further reduction in Boehly’s involvement, having previously served as interim sporting director during the regime’s initial transfer window.
Eghbali has increasingly driven strategy at Stamford Bridge since 2023, taking a direct role in player recruitment alongside wider executive restructuring.
There has been unrest among Chelsea supporters, who have repeatedly voiced frustration at the club’s trajectory since the 2022 takeover.
Fan groups have staged protests, targeting the BlueCo umbrella group over a perceived disconnect between the ownership and fans. Concerns have mounted over aggressive player-trading strategies, rising matchday costs, and a perceived erosion of the club’s identity.
In open letters to the board, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has previously warned of “irreversible toxicity” and a breakdown in trust, pointing to a lack of clear communication regarding long-term sporting vision and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of Stamford Bridge.
