Boehly and Walter Explore Selling Chelsea Stakes to Clearlake

Todd Boehly and Mark Walter are exploring the sale of their stakes in Chelsea to Clearlake Capital, the private equity firm that already owns the majority of the club, according to reports from the BBC, the Telegraph, and Bloomberg on 17 August 2026.

Clearlake currently owns 61.5% of Chelsea. The remaining 38.5% is split between Boehly, Walter, and Hansjorg Wyss, with each holding just under 13% (ESPN). A sale would give Clearlake full control of the club it bought, alongside Boehly, in a £2.5bn deal in 2022 (Sky Sports).

The reported exploration marks a sharp reversal from the dynamic that existed just under two years ago. In September 2024, the Telegraph reported that Boehly wanted to buy out Clearlake, and the private equity firm responded that it had no intention of selling. Now it is Boehly and Walter who are the ones looking to exit.

Bloomberg reported that Mark Walter has explored selling his stake and that no decisions have been made on a potential sale. Chelsea and representatives for Boehly, Walter, and Clearlake all declined to comment (BBC).

Boehly was the public face of the takeover, stepping in as interim sporting director — the executive responsible for signing players — during the first transfer window under new ownership. But since 2023, Clearlake's Behdad Eghbali has become the most influential figure at the club, heavily involved in transfer dealings. Boehly still serves as chairman but is due to be replaced at the end of the season by a Clearlake-appointed representative under a pre-agreed arrangement (BBC).

A number of senior executives left Chelsea within the first two years of the new ownership, and tension between the two camps has simmered over the club's stadium plans. Both Boehly's camp and Clearlake favour moving away from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home since 1905, but they differ over the design and scale of the project (BBC).

In a March interview with Bloomberg, Boehly was candid about what the stadium decision meant for the partnership. "We have a big stadium development opportunity that we have to flesh out," he said. "That's going to be where we're either aligned or we ultimately decide to go different ways" (BBC).

Some sources at Chelsea and within the ownership group play down talk of a rift, pointing to pictures of Boehly and Eghbali together at key matches, including Chelsea's FA Cup final defeat by Manchester City (BBC).

Boehly and Walter are also co-owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Lakers, part of a portfolio of American sports investments that made their move into English football one of the most high-profile takeovers in the Premier League era (Reuters).

For Chelsea fans, the news lands with a mix of weariness and curiosity. Four years on from the takeover, the ownership structure that was meant to usher in a new era may be on the verge of consolidating into a single controlling hand. Whether that brings stability or simply a different kind of turbulence is the question the stadium — and the next transfer window — will help answer.