London World’s Rahman Osman Highlights The Big “Problem” Leading To Civil War Between Chelsea’s Owners

A disagreement over transfer policy is the key “problem” in the split between Chelsea’s Owners and two major shareholders Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly, according to LondonWorld reporter Rahman Osman.

Speaking on Shots! for the Premier League Panel Show, (click the link to watch the entire, very interesting video covering all ramifications of the Chelsea Civil War!), Osman said that neither owner is currently willing to sell and a lot will depend on both sides giving ground:

“I don’t see any clear way at the moment… It’s two people who want the best for Chelsea with different ideas, but they all own the club. That’s just where we are and they will have to find some sort of compromise to make it work but [Todd] Boehly clearly owns a little bit of the club – 38% compared to Clearlake [Capital] – 60% plus – so they have the majority of the shares – but the problem is that they have different opinions when it comes to running the club.”

Osman says the fact that Clearlake have effectively offloaded all of Boehly’s signings from the 2022 summer transfer window demonstrably shows the extent of the disagreement between the two:

“That first transfer window when Boehly was sporting director – every single player that was brought in, they [Clearlake] have tried to move them on – for one reason or another.”

“I think Raheem Sterling is the last one, who has been sent out on loan [to Arsenal]. They were so desperate to move him in, they are paying 50% of his wages… At the end, I think they will find a compromise because none of them want to sell. Owning Chelsea is a massive deal for them.”

Chelsea’s Owners’ future will be decided by Clearlake

Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, the two key figures at Clearlake Capital, will have the final say. As Osman points out, they are the majority shareholders and, if they aren’t willing to sell then they can’t be forced out.

What are Chelsea’s Owners’ doing to resolve things?

There are reports that Boehly is raising funds from investors to buy Clearlake out but his efforts could prove fruitless as Clearlake has said they have no intention of selling their over 61% stake. Both Clearlake and Todd Boehly plus the investors loyal to him all appear to be digging their heels in so a resolution looks like a way off right not as neither appear willing to concede in this dispute. We shall see how this story progresses over the coming months but life under the current ownership is starting to look every bit as crazy as the Roman Abramovich days.

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here