Chelsea are never out of the news these days. It's a far cry from the days when Roman Abramovich effectively ran the club as a family business, and he was the town's only sheriff.
Since Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea by the British government two years ago, the club has been run by US-based investors.
First, Todd Boehley, who owns 13% of Chelsea shares, was revealed to be the largest shareholder, but Clearlake Capital, an American private equity firm, owned 61.5% of the shares.
With Boehly as an inexperienced caretaker sporting director, Chelsea went on a spending spree, buying players like Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the summer of 2022. They also replaced Thomas Tuchel as manager with Graham Potter.
Graham Potter's appointment didn't work for Chelsea
After numerous transfers and managerial changes, it appears that Bedard Eghbali, who co-founded Clearlake with Jose Feliciano, is now in charge of the team.
Bloomberg reports that Chelsea's main owners Eghbali and Boelli are considering a takeover bid as Boelli becomes ineffective.
The marriage of convenience that was quickly arranged to buy Chelsea now appears to be in jeopardy.
Is there any discord between Eggbali and Boeli?
Eghbali and Boehly are said to have a friendly working relationship.
Egbali and Boelli were never the best of friends but their relationship appears to have become less close than when they first arrived at Stamford Bridge.
Both men are very successful and strong businessmen and it is only natural that they both have their own ideas about how the club should be run.
While the pair appeared to be on the same page in private talks last year, it is now clear that Boelli has concerns about the club's new recruitment strategy and the lack of progress on the Stamford Bridge redevelopment.
Despite this, all major decisions at Chelsea must be approved by Egbali, Feliciano and Boelli, so Boelli is still closely involved in the overall strategy.
The relationship between Eghbali and Boehly is best described as professional and friendly at the moment. Boehly visited the Clearlake box at Stamford Bridge three weeks ago ahead of the season opener against Manchester City.
Does Eggbali want to stay or go?
For a more accessible video player, please use the Chrome browser.
Chelsea, who had a mixed start to the season, drew at home to Crystal Palace in their last game. Watch the highlights for free here
Eghbali and Clearlake aren't going anywhere. They have no interest in selling their stock and haven't discussed selling it.
Clearlake now appears fully committed to Chelsea, with Eghbali leading the way. He has featured in all three Premier League games this season and has been closely involved in the recruitment strategy during the transfer window.
It is fair to say that Clearlake will admit that mistakes have been made over the past two years and that results and performances need to improve. They will argue that a lot of the changes have been made and Chelsea are now back on the right path to challenge for trophies again.
There's a new commercial team, a new sporting structure, a new manager, new players. There's a feeling that everyone is focused on getting results on and off the pitch. Stability is key. There's no need to have a power struggle behind the scenes.
Will Will Boley Sell His Stock and Walk Away?
Boehly owns a 13% stake in Chelsea.
Boehly is said to be committed to Chelsea, but he may feel that now is the right time to sell his stake, especially if he feels pushed out by Eghbali and Clearlake. Boehly may have his own ideas about how a football club should be run, but he will never be the final decision maker at Chelsea when someone else owns 61.5% of the club.
Eghbali and Clearlake would be interested in buying Boehly's shares if he were to leave. If there is a real power struggle at Chelsea, it is hard to see how Boehly could gain the upper hand if Eghbali is unwilling to sell.
Why can't they all get along?
This is modern football, not a romantic comedy. Foreign investors are buying clubs not to make friends, but to make money.
If Egbali and Boelli really had a falling out, it wouldn't be the first or last time the two wealthy men disagreed over how to run a business.
Of course, Chelsea is not a simple business, and that is just one reason why the stakes are so high.
Will Chelsea ever be quiet again?
No. When has Chelsea ever been quiet? They may not have been that loud in the past, but they have never been quiet. Chelsea are one of the biggest clubs in the world now and the media attention is not going away any time soon.
Saturday, September 14th at 7:45pm
Starts at 8pm
No matter how bad things may seem, communications and PR professionals will tell you that one of the great things about working in club football is that there is always another game around the corner. Fans want to talk about what is happening on the pitch, not what is happening in the boardroom. As long as the team is winning, nothing else matters.
Chelsea's next game is away at Bournemouth on Saturday. No pressure, Enzo.
