Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso has spoken publicly for the first time about Clearlake Capital's move to take full control of the club, describing the restructuring as an important step for the west London side.
The announcement confirms a notable shift in Chelsea's boardroom dynamics. Todd Boehly, who alongside Mark Walter led the £4.25billion takeover of the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022, has stepped down from his role as chairman as part of the changes. Boehly had previously taken on the position of interim sporting director during the ownership group's first summer at Stamford Bridge before withdrawing from that role in January 2023, at which point Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali began taking a more hands-on approach to running the club's affairs.
Eghbali was instrumental in bringing Alonso to Chelsea this past summer, personally travelling to Madrid to negotiate with the Spanish coach before he departed Real Madrid. Since then, Eghbali has remained Alonso's primary contact within the ownership structure, and the manager says the relationship between the two has been productive.
Speaking on Thursday, Alonso addressed the changes directly. "It's an important day for the club when there is an important change in the structure of the club and the ownership," he said. The coach was also keen to acknowledge the previous leadership's contribution, adding: "I have to thank the former owners for the work they've done. I was not here, but I know that they played an important role, and now that Behdad is taking more control, almost full control, I think it's good that the main one is clear."
Alonso further elaborated on his rapport with Eghbali, crediting him with convincing him to join the project in the first place. "I have very good relations with Behdad. He was the one that came to Madrid to explain me the project, to convince me, and we are working well together," the former Liverpool midfielder said. He also indicated that the club has now moved past an initial phase of squad building. "As I mentioned, this is phase one that we have completed in the project of the squad, and it's good, and now we move on together," he added.
The timing of the ownership announcement comes as Chelsea show promising signs under Alonso's guidance, having started the current campaign strongly following a difficult 2023-24 season in which the Blues finished 10th in the Premier League. Alonso, however, was careful to temper expectations, stressing that turning the club's fortunes around fully will not happen overnight.
"That's why we are here, to get into that position, knowing the competition that we have, but for sure the ambition of the club, the potential of the club, the dimension of the players, where we are, we know where we want to be, we know that everything takes time, but the ambition for that is very clear," the coach explained.
With Eghbali now firmly established as the dominant voice within Chelsea's ownership hierarchy, attention will turn to how the club navigates the rest of the season under this clearer chain of command. Alonso's comments suggest a settled working relationship at the top, which could prove significant as Chelsea attempt to reestablish themselves among England's elite and compete for major honors once again after a turbulent period since the change of ownership in 2022.
Based on reporting from Standard Football.