6 months ago
33 Since Todd Boehly took over as the owner of Chelsea Football Club, he’s been able to go about his business practically unhindered.
There’ll always be questions and rumours as to just how the Blues can afford to break the British transfer record twice in quick succession, and be in a position to acquire multiple talents given the auspices of Financial Fair Play, but Boehly has always appeared to be a canny operator.
Certainly, there has been no proof to this point that anything underhand has been taking place.
That could all be about to change, however, after it was revealed that the club appear to have sold their Cobham training ground… back to themselves.
Chelsea have sold their training ground… to themselves
It’s a move which would appear to help them in terms of circumventing FFP rules, and whilst it once again shows the American’s business nous, one former Premier League CEO seems to think that this time Boehly might’ve bitten off more than he can chew.
“This has become quite an interesting story. We’ve had the hotel story, and now we’ve got the training ground,” ex-Everton chief, Keith Wyness said on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast.
“I’ve got to say, it seemed pretty straightforward in that they were selling assets back to themselves.
“It seemed to be okay. But there is a concern that the Premier League aren’t looking into the valuations involved.
Todd Boehly watching Chelsea at Stamford Bridge“I’ve got to give credit to Stefan Borson, a recently published PSR expert who unearthed this bombshell.
“He’s done some digging and it turns out that the land registry details for the Cobham training ground aren’t very clear. That’s another area of concern.
“Back in 2015, it was worth about £23million. Now they claim it is worth about £150million in 2024.
“There are very few facts available, but it does seem there is a stretch in the valuations and whether they are fair market value.”
Wyness’ words certainly brings Chelsea’s dealings front and centre again, and that won’t necessarily suit Boehly.
The American will need to accept that the sheer nature of his position brings with it a certain level of profile and, as long as he has nothing to hide, he’ll be just fine.
If, however, Boehly is treading a very fine line, then having the Premier League breathing down his neck isn’t going to be a surprise.

With Chelsea expected to be very active again in the transfer market, questions might once again start to be asked by other clubs.
Whether any off field activities will impact on Mauricio Pochettino and his squad won’t be known for a little while longer.
