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 doubted the real motive behind this deal.

The more you invest, the more skeptical you become.

It is no wonder that Chelsea have undergone a structural change that no other club has undergone. 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 purchase price of the group, led by billionaire Boehly, is £4.25 billion. It includes £2.5 billion to buy the club and £1.75 billion committed to investing in infrastructure, 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 was transferred... Until now, this amount of money is still unclear.

But one thing is certain: billionaire Todd Boehly has kept his word about 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 euros (550 million pounds) on Chelsea players.

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

Despite spending so much, Chelsea’s revival day is getting more and more uncertain. When billionaire Boehly took over Chelsea, they finished the season in 3rd place in the Premier League. But in the next season, Chelsea dropped to 12th place and were 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 people were skeptical about the real motive behind the takeover of the team by his investment group.

The way Mr. Boehly purged the management team (like saying goodbye to famous female CEO Marina Granovskaia), and the way he threw money indiscriminately into the transfer market seemed to only push 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 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 for Chelsea to truly revive, they must rely on their achievements on the pitch. And Boehly and his team have been lucky. A ticket to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup - which comes from winning the Champions League in 2021 - is a hidden surprise that his predecessor Roman Abramovich has given Boehly. This summer, Chelsea arrived in the US with a comfortable mindset after securing a Champions League ticket. Fans just hope Chelsea go far in the tournament, to reap the big prize money.

As usual, every time they are underestimated, Chelsea explodes even more unexpectedly. They are even significantly assisted by the element of luck when the powerful opponents in the bracket 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 confident than Donnarumma…

After all, the gamble that billionaire Boehly and his investment team have made on Chelsea over the past three years has begun to pay off. The first expanded FIFA Club World Cup championship not only brought in reputation and brand, 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