Todd Boehly signs purchase agreement in ‘most significant step’ to buy Chelsea — report

It’s happening. The new era at Chelsea Football Club is almost officially here now. Todd Boehly “has signed the purchase agreement to buy Chelsea”, as reported by the Telegraph this evening. While the deal is not yet complete, this is seen “as the most significant step” in the process, which now only has a couple administrative and bureaucratic formalities to clear. (Though as reported before, they may take a couple weeks because such things definitely don’t move fast.)

Boehly himself was at Stamford Bridge today to put pen to paper, as Chelsea fan Darren Lavery can personally attest to. Here’s the Todd himself, in his casual getup and flash laces. My man’s got that drip, as the kids might say.

(Keen-eyed viewers might spot former UK Chancellor and Secretary of State George Osborne as well, second from the right, who is part of the advisory group from investment bank Robey Warshaw assisting in this transaction — though not actually part of the consortium.)

In any case, with this “most significant step” out of the way, we can proceed with the necessary Premier League approvals and Government licence applications and amendments. These are not expected to pose any new hurdles or complications.

The Telegraph’s report also confirms the “anti-Glazer” clauses that have been put into the agreement, aimed at ensuring (beyond just promises) that the primary goal of the new ownership group (and majority investors Clearlake Capital especially) will be the betterment and competitiveness of the club rather than their bottom line. (Or so we hope.)

Welcome, Todd! Let’s keep winning all the things!