Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali remain at war in the Chelsea boardroom. But when you command business empires as far reaching as theirs, you can’t afford to put all your firepower into one thing.
Boehly became the public face of the new Chelsea ownership regime following the takeover from Roman Abramovich in May two years ago.
His profile at that stage appeared proportionate to the influence he was exerting at the club, with the American private equity billionaire reportedly involving himself in both business and sporting strategy.
However, his role as the all-seeing eye behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge has now been taken over by Eghbali, whose Clearlake Capital own over 60 per cent of Chelsea’s equity.
Factions led by both men are now vying for control of Chelsea in a tug of war to which many analysts the only solution is one buying the other out.
But while the crisis is doubtless dominating much of Boehly’s time, the Eldridge Industries CEO scored a major victory in the United States this week as his LA Dodgers outfit won baseball’s World Series.
And even more recent developments suggest that Boehly has no plans to slow down his investment in sports any time soon.
In fact, his next move could be based just a few miles from Chelsea themselves.
Chelsea chiefs target another London-based sports investment
Last week it emerged that Jonathan Goldstein, a key ally of Boehly’s was targeting a stake in a Hundred cricket franchise.
49 per cent stakes in several teams are available for purchase at present, with the process being managed by Chelsea takeover brokers Raine Group.
The teams are valued at £650m, with £140m being the average asking price for those up for auction.
When that story broke, Boehly chose ‘no comment’ when asked whether he would be joining Goldstein’s bid for the unnamed Hundred franchise.
However, Sky News are now reporting that Boehly will be on board and that the specific franchise they are targeting is London Spirit, the team founded five years ago in North London.
Boehly’s personal net worth hovers around the £6bn mark, but his Eldridge Industries group controls assets worth around £147bn.
Acquiring a Hundred cricket team would be a drop in the ocean in that context, but many analysts believe it would be a smart business move.
That belief is shared by Man United’s Glazer family and India’s richest family, the Ambanis, which would indeed indicate that it is where the smart money is.
- READ MORE: Chelsea get first official confirmation in £1bn project that John Terry is ‘super excited’ about
Todd Boehly vs Behdad Eghbali: What is the latest?
In short, updates about the ongoing feud between Boehly and Eghbali have been few and far between.
The pair have made public appearances together to substantiate the claims they have briefed to the press that the relationship remains professional.
And with Chelsea on a decent run of form on the pitch under Enzo Maresca, they will be conscious of not doing anything to disrupt momentum in SW6.
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