Premier League giants Chelsea have struggled to hit the ground running under their new ownership consortium headed by American billionaire Todd Boehly and Clarion Capital’s Behdad Eghbali, but that has not stopped the wealthy pair from looking toward the future after the club hierarchy has spoken on plans to develop the Chelsea brand into a global behemoth.
As reported by CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs, Boehly and Eghbali came into a club that was horrifically disconnected from top to bottom but will begin to put plans in motion to put the club right in a multi-model setup directly involving the ownership pair.
Behdad Eghbali tells @Sportico Chelsea was “not terribly well managed on the football, sporting or promotional side” under Roman Abramovich. As previously reported, new owners were surprised by the lack of data they inherited and the ‘disconnected’ internal structure of the club. pic.twitter.com/FZgNEhAkNc
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) December 24, 2022
Via Jacobs’ report, Eghbali was “always going to be hands-on and will be key in January. Although not carrying a defined football title like Todd Boehly, he’s firmly across budget, negotiations and partnerships and is leading on multi-model decisions from an investment perspective.”
As such, the club’s detailed plan moving forward as highlighted by Jacobs is as follows (for full details, see Jacob’s report thread on Twitter):
- Chelsea is thinking global – ownership wants a multi-club model with France as the priority region, while the African market is also set to be targeted heavily.
- The first step into the multi-club market may be minority investment in a club outside of England which would aid in scouting.
- Brand expansion – £2.3b purchase price is viewed as a ‘bargain’ if the club globalizes & modernizes + on-pitch success.
- Ownership to look to US sports markets due to knowledge base and usage of data to build the club beyond matters on the pitch.
- Boehly & Eghbali view football as decades behind the US in terms of applied data in the realm of value prediction, development, and injury prevention. Chelsea aims to be heavily data-driven.
- Chelsea to look at stadium modernization and redevelopment in the same light as Tottenham, massively increasing non-football income.
- Reduction in salary + fully revamped scouting and recruitment team to = focus on high-value young players rather than overpriced star names.
