Clearlake Capital moves to full control of Chelsea after Boehly and Walter sell stakes

Todd Boehly and Mark Walter sold their stakes in Chelsea Football Club to majority owner Clearlake Capital on 16 September 2026, with BBC Sport reporting that Hansjorg Wyss had also sold his stake, a change that would give Clearlake full control of the club.

Boehly, Walter and Wyss each held 12.8% of Chelsea, while Clearlake previously owned 61.5%, according to BBC Sport; Boehly has been chairman since the 2022 consortium purchase of the club for £2.3bn from Roman Abramovich. Multiple sources told BBC Sport that talks about ownership changes began after a rift that first became apparent in 2024, and the BBC reported in August that Boehly and Walter were exploring selling their stakes.

Boehly, who is a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, will leave his role as chairman. He said it had been an "honour" to serve as Chelsea chairman and added: "I would like to thank the many who helped secure a bright future for the club, including the English Premier League, the coaches and players, the talented leadership and staff at Chelsea, and the legions of dedicated fans. I have valued my partnership with Clearlake and the wider ownership group, and the collective decisions and investment we have made to support the immediate and long-term success of the club. I am confident that Chelsea is well positioned for continued success under Clearlake's leadership."

Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano, co-founders of Clearlake Capital, thanked Boehly for his "time and contribution" as chairman and said he will "always be a part of the Chelsea story and family." They added their focus is to "continue investing in the club's infrastructure, sporting performance, player development and delivering long-term success for Chelsea and the club's supporters," per the Guardian.

Since the 2022 takeover, Chelsea's highest Premier League finish is fourth in 2024-25, the club also won the Uefa Conference League and the Fifa Club World Cup that season, and the team recorded a notably high turnover of players with an initial strategy of signing young players to long-term contracts, the BBC reported. Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League last season and appointed Xabi Alonso as manager in the summer; the Guardian noted the club are sixth in the Premier League at the time of its report.

Chelsea have ongoing plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge or move to a new stadium, a subject that sources told the BBC had created tension at times between Boehly's camp and Clearlake. A club statement said there will be "no changes to the day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy at the club" as a result of Clearlake assuming full control. The BBC also reported that Mark Walter, co-owner and chief executive of Guggenheim Partners where Boehly began his financial career, last month sold the Los Angeles Lakers for a record $12.5bn (£9.23bn) and that US federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating companies in Walter's business empire.

The Guardian published a club statement saying: "Chelsea Football Club today announced affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group, LP will acquire the ownership interest of Todd Boehly. Hansjorg Wyss will remain an important stakeholder and partner in the ownership group. As part of the transition, Clearlake will also acquire Mark Walter’s ownership interest and therefore acquire full control of the club."

Clearlake said it intends to "continue building on the strategic course the club is now on and realising the ambition that the ownership group has developed together," and the ownership change will be implemented without alterations to day-to-day leadership or strategy, according to the club's statements.