Alonso says Chelsea ambition clear after end of Boehly era

Xabi Alonso said Chelsea's ambition is "very clear" after Clearlake Capital took full control of the Premier League club, ending the chairmanship of Todd Boehly.

Chelsea announced late Wednesday that Clearlake, led by co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, would acquire the stakes of Boehly and director Mark Walter.

The two American billionaires partnered with Clearlake to buy the club from Roman Abramovich in a sale mandated by the British government in May 2022.

Prior to Wednesday's deal, private equity company Clearlake had owned 61.5 percent of the club, with Boehly and Walter carving up the remaining shares with another investor, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss.

The club said Wyss would "remain an important stakeholder and partner in the ownership group".

In a fresh statement on Thursday, Chelsea said: "Our ambition is clear: to compete at the highest level, to win major trophies, and to build sustained success."

Blues boss Alonso, who started his role at Chelsea on July 1, told reporters that the change was "an important day for the club".

"Thanks to the former owners for what they've done. I was not here, but I know they played an important role," he said on the eve of Chelsea's Premier League match at Brentford on Friday.

"And now that Behdad is taking more control, almost full control, I think it's good that the main one is clear.

"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 Spaniard added: "We know where we want to be, we know that everything takes time, but the ambition for that is very clear."

Since the takeover in 2022, Chelsea's highest Premier League finish is fourth, in 2024/25, while the club won the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup that season.

Chelsea finished a dismal 10th in the Premier League last term, hiring former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen manager Alonso in the close-season to revitalise their underachieving squad.

The Blues have made a mixed start to the season, taking seven points from their four Premier League games to sit sixth in the table.