Todd Boehly makes £40m swoop which diverts attention from Chelsea division | OneFootball

Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has just bought a stake in cricket franchise Trent Rockets for close to £40m, the Telegraph are reporting today.

The American businessman’s company Cain International – co-funded with Jonathan Goldstein, another Chelsea director, placed the winning bid for the Nottingham based team which plays in the somewhat controversial new “Hundred” format.

Nottingham CCC keep 51%, while Boehly and Cain have bought the remaining 49%, meaning the franchise has a total value of around £80m. If it strikes you as curious that Boehly would invest in a team outside London, all becomes clear when you realise he was outbid for a stake in the Oval Invincibles and one in the London Spirit, meaning the Rockets are his third choice at best.

They are the second partly American controlled franchise in the league now – Tom Brady’s Knighthead Capital, who own Birmingham City, have bought 49% of their local side Birmingham Phoenix.

Boehly still involved in PR war at Chelsea

Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali with a cracked badge.

Chelsea’s current struggles are bringing Boehly and fellow Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali back into the firing line in public. There seems to be an ongoing PR battle between them to not be seen as the reason for the club’s struggles despite the vast investment in players.

Stories about a split between the two of them at Chelsea have calmed since September, when things seemed at breaking point. But bad results on the pitch will inevitably bring negative rumours to the surface again.

Boehly has recently been in the headlines with some pretty damaging stories, as it was revealed last week that he’s also an investor with Vivid Seats, a company which resells tickets to Premier League games to fans abroad. It’s not the kind of thing you want coming out when the team is struggling.