Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has acknowledged that fan protests are to be expected as the Blues continue to experience mixed results under the ownership group’s controversial direction.
Ahead of Chelsea’s 4-0 win over Southampton, a group of Blues supporters gathered outside Stamford Bridge to protest against the club’s ownership – Boehly and Clearlake Capital, led by Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano – expressing frustration with the underperformance of the expensive squad.
The protests included chants in support of former owner Roman Abramovich, who remains a beloved figure among many fans, despite being forced to sell the club following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in London, Boehly was given the opportunity to respond to fans calling for the ownership group to sell the club.
“I just think it’s par for the course,” Boehly remarked. “The sooner you realize you can’t keep everyone happy all the time, the more freedom you have.”
“We are just trying to execute a plan, and we understand that things aren’t always linear. We’re trending in the right direction, and that’s what really matters.”
Boehly also addressed reports of a rift between the ownership group and Clearlake Capital, which surfaced late last year. When asked if the ownership structure would remain the same next year, he replied, “I can’t predict the future. We have agreed on a strategy, and things are moving forward.”
However, Boehly stressed that he had no regrets about the structure of the deal to buy Chelsea in 2022, emphasizing, “I don’t look in the rear-view mirror.”
