Chelsea, a traditional English football club, is facing a period of uncertainty regarding its shareholding structure. Speculation is growing behind the scenes that North American businessmen Mark Walter and Todd Boehly, both co-owners of the team, plan to sell their shares to the Clearlake Capital group.

Currently, Clearlake, led by Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano, holds the largest share of the club, with 61.5% of the Blues’ shares. On the other hand, Walter and Boehly each own 12.83%, the same percentage as Swiss philanthropist Hansjorg Wyss.

Sources have indicated that the relationship between Clearlake and the club’s other investors, especially Todd Boehly, has been strained in recent years. In 2024, there were attempts to buy and sell shares among the shareholders themselves.

Despite a brief reconciliation, recent reports suggest that Walter and Boehly are willing to trade their Chelsea shares pending a suitable value proposition from Clearlake Capital.

The current consortium acquired the English club in 2022 for £2.5 billion, with a further commitment of £1.75 billion in investment for the team. The previous sale, which removed Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich from command, came after he was pressured to divest from the Blues over his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after the start of the Ukrainian War.

According to sources, Walter and Boehly estimate that the London team is worth at least double the amount they invested around four years ago.

When asked to comment on the situation, Mark Walter, Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital and Chelsea chose not to comment on the matter.

Mark Walter’s situation includes recent events in the United States sports market. Last week, he agreed to sell the Los Angeles Lakers, an NBA team, to businessmen Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger for an amount of US$12.5 billion (approximately R$65.2 billion).

The billionaire had purchased the California franchise just 14 months before deciding to sell. He is under investigation by US federal authorities for possible tax fraud involving companies in his conglomerate.

To date, Walter and his group, TWG Global, have not been formally charged. They deny all allegations and say they are cooperating fully with authorities.

There is no confirmation of any link between the investigation and the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Todd Boehly, in turn, was a public figure and served as Chelsea’s sporting director since the new owners arrived at Stamford Bridge.

However, the Clearlake Capital group gradually expanded its influence and now exercises control over the internal management of the Blues, with Eghbali becoming the main behind-the-scenes leadership at the club.