Todd Boehly’s first 11 Chelsea signings compared to Roman Abramovich spree
Todd Boehly has inspired plenty of change at Chelsea since taking the reins from Roman Abramovich - but his transfer policy has thus far proved to be significantly less impactful than the Russian.
Stamford Bridge has been a hive of activity since Boehly and his consortium took over from Abramovich in May 2022. The Blues have seen the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Romelu Lukaku, Christian Pulisic and many more depart the club while bringing in expensive replacements.
The moves showcased the ambition possessed by Boehly and his fellow investors as they looked to make the same impact as Abramovich in the summer of 2003, when he completed his £140 million takeover from Ken Bates. The Russian oligarch immediately went about reshaping the club in the transfer marker, spending ludicrous amounts of money at the time to ensure Chelsea became powerhouse in the Premier League.
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Abramovich's spending spree
In Abramovich’s first summer transfer window, Chelsea went wild. The London club signed 11 players from England and abroad as part of a summer spending spree the likes of which had never been seen before in English football.
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Chelsea signed Glen Johnson (£6m) from Portsmouth, Damien Duff (£17m) from Blackburn Rovers, Wayne Bridge (£7m) from Southampton, West Ham ’s Joe Cole (£6.6m), Tottenham ’s Neil Sullivan (£500,000) and Manchester United ’s record signing Juan Sebastian Veron (£15m) as well as Parma’s Adrian Mutu (£15.8m), Bordeaux’s Alexey Smertin (£3.45m), and Inter Milan striker Hernan Crespo (£16.8m). The Blues also added Geremi (£7m) and Claude Makelele (£16.8m) from Real Madrid.
Chelsea’s total outlay for their first 11 signings was £111.95m - but this pales in comparison to the moves made in the Boehly era.
Boehly's spending spree
Chelsea made nine signings in under two months before the 2022 summer transfer window closed, and added eight more in the January window, to take their season total to 18 players at the end of January.
After Boehly took over, the first signing was Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling for £47.5m. He was followed by Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly (£33m), Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina (£8m), and Aston Villa’s Carney Chukwuemeka (£20m) as well as Brighton ’s Marc Cucurella (£57.5m), Inter Milan youth star Cesare Casadei (£13.3m), Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana (£70m), Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.3m) and Denis Zakaria, who joined on loan from Juventus with a £2.7m loan fee.
In January, the signings of David Datro Fofana (£10.6m) from Molde and Benoit Badiashile (£33.7m) from Monaco took Chelsea to 11 under Boehly. The 11 players arrived in London for £306.6m - nearly £200m more than Abramovich’s moves.
Todd Boehly's first signing for Chelsea was Raheem Sterling from Premier League rivals Manchester City (Chelsea FC via Getty Images)Important detail
Abramovich’s Chelsea finished second in the Premier League in the 2003/04 season, and won the title the following year. Meanwhile, Boehly’s Chelsea finished a lowly 12th - the Blues’s worst finish since 1993/94 when they came 14th - and are currently sat in 10th following a tough start to the current campaign.
Boehly has now made 27 signings since taking over at Chelsea at a stunning cost of £899.55m. Time will tell if the money was wisely spent, but it’s not a great start for the American.
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