Chelsea: The return of an empire

Exactly 3 years since American billionaire Todd Boehly officially took control of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, Stamford Bridge fans can finally hold their heads high again.

Chelsea members hold up the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup trophy - Photo: REUTERS

Over the past 3 years, many times fans have questioned the real motive behind this deal.

The more you invest, the more skeptical you become.

How can one not be skeptical when Chelsea undergo a change in its top structure in a way that no other club has experienced. Billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea due to sanctions from the British Government , related to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The total cost of the takeover, led by billionaire Boehly, is £4.25bn. It includes £2.5bn to buy the club and £1.75bn committed to investing in infrastructure, the academy and team development.

There are many problems related to the amount of money that billionaire Boehly's group had to pay, as well as how Mr. Abramovich received the money and where it went... Until now, this amount of money is still unclear.

But one thing is certain: billionaire Todd Boehly has kept his word when it comes to investing in Chelsea. In the transfer market alone, the American billionaire has been surprisingly generous. In his first year in charge, Boehly spent €630 million (£550 million) on Chelsea players.

In the next season (2023 - 2024), Chelsea will spend 464 million euros to buy players, although they also earned about 280 million euros from selling. The actual amount that billionaire Boehly had to spend for Chelsea to buy players in the first 2 years was about 730 million euros. In the next 2 years, the total amount Chelsea actually spent on transfers was more than 1 billion euros.

Despite spending so much, Chelsea’s revival day is becoming increasingly uncertain. When billionaire Boehly took over Chelsea, they finished the season in 3rd place in the Premier League. But in the following season, Chelsea dropped to 12th place and finished empty-handed in all competitions. The following season, Chelsea climbed to 6th place, still far from the level of billionaire Abramovich.

It was also the time when Chelsea fans had to question the generosity of billionaire Boehly. Many were skeptical about the real motive behind the takeover of the team by his investment group.

The way Mr. Boehly has purged the management team (such as saying goodbye to famous female CEO Marina Granovskaia), and the way he has thrown money indiscriminately into the transfer market seems to have only pushed Chelsea to the brink of crisis.

Coach Enzo Maresca (left) is better than Luis Enrique (PSG) - Photo: REUTERS

Boehly's risky gamble

For over a year, Chelsea have been under immense pressure from the Financial Fair Play Regulations - something they have been punished for in the past. You don't need to be a financial expert to see how much Chelsea has lost when investment has not matched performance.

Last summer, the club’s owners resorted to a number of tricks to help Chelsea escape financial fair play sanctions, including selling the group’s hotels and the women’s team to another company within the parent group.

But to truly revive Chelsea, they must rely on results on the pitch. And Boehly and his team have been lucky. A place in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup - which comes from winning the Champions League in 2021 - was a surprise gift from his predecessor Roman Abramovich. This summer, Chelsea arrived in the United States with a comfortable mindset after securing a Champions League spot. Fans just hope Chelsea go far in the tournament, to reap the big prize money.

As usual, every time they are underestimated, Chelsea explodes unexpectedly. They are even significantly assisted by luck when the strong opponents in the group are eliminated early (like Man City, Inter Milan).

But the rewards only come to those who deserve it. Chelsea had a slight advantage over PSG, but they won a surprisingly convincing final. On a beautiful day, Chelsea were superior to their opponents in every aspect. Coach Enzo Maresca was better than Luis Enrique. Palmer was better than Dembele, and Sanchez was more certain than Donnarumma…

After all, the gamble that billionaire Boehly and his investment team have put into Chelsea over the past three years has begun to pay off. Winning the first expanded FIFA Club World Cup not only brought fame and brand recognition, but also a direct bonus of more than 100 million euros.

After so much giving, Chelsea are now starting to score. And an empire is on the rise.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chelsea-su-tro-lai-cua-mot-de-che-20250715110951949.htm