Already an investor in the world of sports, with stakes in the Lakers, LA Dodgers, and others, Todd Boehly has fully embraced the world of football.
Join us as we explore the work he has done so far and what the American entrepreneur envisions for this sport.
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Who is Todd Boehly?
Born on September 20, 1973, in Bethesda, Maryland, United States, Todd Boehly is a businessman with diverse interests.
As one of the co-founders of Eldridge Industries, he has stakes in companies in the insurance, music and entertainment, technology, real estate, gaming, mobility (aviation/car rental), and of course, sports sectors.
All these massive businesses have earned the entrepreneur an estimated fortune of $6 billion in net worth.
When it comes to sports, he is a partner in institutions across various disciplines. And apparently, when it comes to acquiring stakes in sports institutions, he plays at a high level.
He is a partner of the LA Lakers, one of, if not the greatest franchise in the history of American basketball. He also has a stake in the LA Dodgers, a major baseball team.
Furthermore, he is active in the gaming sector. One of the companies is Epic Games, the creator of the popular game Fortnite, known worldwide.
With this introduction, it’s time to talk about our area, football.
How has Todd’s work been with Chelsea and Strasbourg?
Image: Disclosure
Chelsea
Todd Boehly can be many things, but something undeniable is his knack for good deals.
We all know that a good businessman depends a lot on luck, although, in many (if not most) cases, it depends on the misfortune of others.
The fact is that in February 2022, Russia and Ukraine went to war.
In response, the West began to impose a series of sanctions not only on Russia as a country but also on Russians living abroad.
Thus, embargoes and frozen accounts were imposed. But what does this have to do with Chelsea?
Since 2003, the club’s owner has been Roman Abramovich, a Russian tycoon.
Abramovich was the owner any fan would want for their team. Like Manchester City, Chelsea was a common team, which had its ups and downs in history but never firmly established itself among the greats.
With Abramovich’s arrival, Chelsea became one of the greatest teams in the world. It had historic teams with remarkable players.
Therefore, the legacy left by the Russian was extremely important not only for the club but also for English and world football.
He bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140 million and sold it nearly twenty years later for £4.25 billion. Quite a deal, isn’t it?
The weight of buying a club like Chelsea is immense.
In the 2020/21 season, the London team won its second Champions League, beating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. And let’s face it, for the internal climate, a change of ownership and consequently management when things are going well is very different from the opposite.
Thus, by itself, the American entrepreneur would already face difficulties ahead. But they became even greater with his lack of experience in the football industry.
Before acquiring the club, he must have consulted with his advisors on the best ways to make money in football. The answer probably was the sale of young players, which is indeed very profitable.
The problem is that nothing is as simple as that.
Since his arrival, Todd Boehly has spent nothing less than €1.1 billion. A ridiculously absurd amount even by football standards.
Seeing these values, one might think: who were the signings? Mbappé, Salah, De Bruyne, Vinicius Jr? Not quite.
The players brought in to be the stars of the company were Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo, Fofana, Cucurella, Lavia, and others.
Todd bet on very young players who indeed have future prospects.
The problem is that you can’t simply hire athletes with a very low average age and expect them to play in one of the toughest leagues in the world, the Premier League.
Last season, Chelsea finished in 12th place, and this year they remain in this zone, only in 11th place.
Todd and his advisors failed to understand that for young athletes to appreciate, they must be in an environment conducive to it. He made a series of young boys wear the blue shirt hoping that magically they would develop football worthy of a champion.
Now, the opposite happens. Clearly, by not preparing the environment for the boys, their football levels are much lower than expected. As a result, the players bought to be appreciated are actually being depreciated.
As a businessman, he should know that high-risk investments early in the job are of immeasurable danger.
Also, in the sports industry, success on the field reflects on the economic aspect.
At this moment, Chelsea fans see the team crumbling, and Todd sees his investment evaporating.
We believe in long-term work, but there really seems to be no prospect for the Blues with the team that Pochettino has in hand.
Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Strasbourg
Acquired in its entirety by Todd Boehly and his group in June 2023, Strasbourg, for the entrepreneur’s project, was one of his best investments.
It is speculated that a value between €65 and €75 million was paid.
This is the famous laboratory of the Americans. Strasbourg is where Todd sends players bought by Chelsea, who still need experience on European soil due to their young age. Like Ângelo, sold from Santos to Chelsea for €15 million.
Or even players bought by Strasbourg itself, who may stand out, will be quickly sent to Chelsea.
Those who suffer from this are those truly passionate about the club.
The team is only in 14th place in the very weak Ligue 1, one point away from the relegation playoff and three from direct relegation.
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Overall panorama
It’s hard to find positive points about Todd Boehly’s management.
Indeed, he acquired important young players, but many of them at extremely overvalued prices.
Chelsea’s transfer balance, just this season, is in the range of €200 million negative.
If the team has a negative player balance, nor does it win titles, how can this be considered a good deal?
As in the previous text about 777 Partners, in Chelsea, there seems to have been no planning whatsoever. There seems to be no understanding of what football is and everything that involves this sport. Above all, there seems to be no intention for the team to perform and deliver to the fans, the institution’s greatest asset, what they desire, which are titles and good performances.
It would really be too simple if having a football team were limited to buying young talents for them to someday emerge as sacred stars, be sold for millions of pounds, and the money be distributed to the shareholders.
If you want your work to truly succeed and if you want to expand your business to other countries, Todd and his crew will have to use their huge budget to hire specialists who can outline objective plans for the short, medium, and long term.
Do you believe that teams managed by this group can turn things around?
Image: Reproduction The Sun
Written by Vitor F L Miller.
