Chelsea Football Club have officially announced the completed takeover of the club by the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. It comes after three months of ownership concerns surrounding the future of the Blues.
The debacle started in March, when previous owner Roman Abramovich announced his intentions to move on after 19-years at the helm. He was then sanctioned by the UK Government shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, freezing his assets and placing Chelsea under a special sporting licence.
This restricted a number of things the club as a whole could do, such as signing players or contracts. US Banking firm Raine were left in charge of the process, eventually landing on Boehly's bid as the preferred option, with work put in place since to try and get the deal over the line.
READ MORE: Todd Boehly's first words after his consortium completes takeover of Chelsea
Monday, May 30th saw the deal officially pass through, starting a new era at Stamford Bridge. In their first statement, the new owners said: "Boehly and Clearlake are committed to investing in key areas that will extend and enhance Chelsea’s competitiveness, including the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, further investment in the Academy, the Women’s Team, and Kingsmeadow stadium. The owners will also continue the important work of the Chelsea Foundation."
However, questions were still hanging over the sanctions placed over the head of the club following the previous regime. Nadine Dorries, the secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports had already spoken out on the restrictions for Chelsea and when Boehly and Tuchel can be expected to have them lifted. “The Club will be free from previous operating restrictions imposed by sanctions from the point the new ownership takes effect,” she said on Wednesday. “And we expect this to take place in a matter of days.”
It represents a huge boost to the club, allowing the new owners, the hierarchy and Thomas Tuchel the chance to get straight to work on improving the side going forward.
