Chelsea's new owner was ex-wrestling star who co-owns LA Dodgers and Lakers

The Blues' future was thrown into doubt after sanctions were placed on now-former owner Abramovich by the UK government in March amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich, the Russian-Israeli billionaire who bought Chelsea in 2003, was allowed to sell the club as long as none of the proceeds went to him.

It is understood the consortium led by Toddy Boehly, the LA Dodgers co-owner, and Clearlake Capital have now acquired the club for £2.5billion.

But can Chelsea fans expect from their first new owner in almost two decades? talkSPORT.com has taken a deeper look…

Who is Todd Boehly?

Todd Boehly is a businessman, philanthropist and an investor born in the United States of America.

The 48-year-old was a college wrestling star in his teenage years after attending the private Landon School in Maryland.

He championed successive Interstate Athletic Conference Championships in 1990 and 1991 and his achievements led to the school naming their gym the Boehly Family Wrestling Room in his honour.

Boehly is married to Katie Boehly and the couple have three sons together - Nick, Zach and Clay.

He is known for being co-founder, chief executive officer, chairman and controlling member of private investment firm Eldridge Industries.

Boehly went to school in Bethesda, Maryland before crossing the pond to study at the London School of Economics.

After that, he began working at Citibank, and he hasn't looked back since, going on to have great success in the world of finance.

How did Todd Boehly make his money?

After working at Citibank and CS First Boston, Boehly moved to Guggenheim Partners in 2001.

From here, he launched the firm's credit investing business and went on to become the president of the company.

Todd then fronted a big deal in 2013 between Time Warner Cable and the Los Angeles Dodgers to create SportsNet LA - a network made to broadcast anything in relation to the baseball franchise.

This was a significant step forward for Boehly, but 2015 was the year in which everything changed for the American businessman

Boehly decided to pool some of the assets he collected at Guggenheim, including The Hollywood Reporter, Dick Clark Productions, and Security Benefit, to found his current firm Eldridge Industries.

Once this was established, his fortune continued to accumulate.

How much is Todd Boehly worth?

According to Forbes' latest calculations, the current Chelsea bidder is worth in the region of $4.5billion, which works out at around £3.5billion.

What else does Todd Boehly own?

Now that his bid for Chelsea has been successful, the Blues have become the latest in a long line of sports acquisitions for the American.

Boehly is co-owner of the seven-time MLB World Series winners Los Angeles Dodgers, 17-time NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers and women's basketball team Los Angeles Sparks, so he has plenty of experience running sports teams.

However, his ownership of the Dodgers has been criticised due to the team's high wage bill. His initial investment has also been heavily scrutinised because of the collateral attached to the loan he used to buy his stake in the baseball franchise.

Who else is involved in Boehly's consortium?

Boehly has teamed up with fellow Dodgers co-owner Mark Walters, British businessman [and Tottenham fan] Jonathan Goldstein, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US investment firm Clearlake Capital.

Therefore, this group have some serious wealth behind them, and you would think they can ensure Chelsea remain a global football superpower.

Chelsea takeover: What has been said?

"We are honoured to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club," said Boehly in a statement on the club's website.

"We're all in - 100% — every minute of every match. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud.

"Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the Club for the long-term and build on Chelsea's remarkable history of success.

"I personally want to thank ministers and officials in the British government, and the Premier League, for all their work in making this happen."

Back in 2019, Boehly tried and failed to buy Chelsea and he revealed why he wanted to buy a Premier League club.

"The passion that the fans have for the activity and the sport and the teams is unparalleled," he said at the time.

"So when you start to think about you know what you're trying to build with these teams is, you're really trying to a - win and b - be part of the community.

"And the opportunity that we had with the Dodgers, it was really about a partnership with Los Angeles. How are we gonna win? How are we gonna drive championships, and how are we going to build passion?

"If you look at what the Premier League offers, it's all of those things. It's the highest quality play, and it's the best players."