João Félix is the 36th permanent signing made by Chelsea since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium bought the club in 2022. In that time, they have spent over £1 billion. We put those staggering numbers into context.
In news that would once have got everyone talking but now elicits no more than a gentle “Oh, really?”, Chelsea have reached an agreement with Atlético Madrid for the permanent signing of Portuguese forward João Félix for a reported £44.5 million. The 24-year-old has agreed terms on a six-year contract with the option, just in case anyone needed it, of an additional 12 months.
Félix, who previously spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea, is the 36th permanent signing that Chelsea have made since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium bought the club in 2022.
Yes, 36 players in just over two years have arrived at Stamford Bridge.
Do you know what else goes up to 36? A roulette wheel. And given the scattergun approach to Chelsea’s signings during Boehly’s tenure, it does feel as though the American is spinning the wheel and randomly picking up the phone based on where the ball lands.
Capable of playing anywhere across the front three, Félix joins the ranks of Chelsea attackers competing for playing time that includes Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer, Carney Chukwuemeka, Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling (though maybe not for much longer), Mykhailo Mudryk, Pedro Neto, David Datro Fofana and Cesare Casadei.
The turnover of Chelsea’s squad since Clearlake and Boehly’s takeover in 2022 has been staggering.
Not one of those aforementioned attacking players was at the club before the takeover, while Reece James and Ben Chilwell are the only survivors from Chelsea’s Champions League final squad in May 2021. Their absence from Chelsea’s squad in their opening-day Premier League defeat to Manchester City meant that not a single player featured in both of those matchday squads.
While Chelsea’s new owners will claim they’ve successfully pursued a policy of signing players on long-term contracts with relatively low wages by Premier League standards, their total expenditure is still eyewatering.
Exact figures on spending will vary, but according to Transfermarkt, Chelsea have spent over £1 billion under Clearlake and Boehly in just over two years. Their sum total is over double that of the next biggest spenders during that time frame (Manchester United £518m).
That spending has been somewhat offset by income, but Chelsea’s net spend of over £670m is still far higher than any other Premier League club over the last two seasons.
Adding some historical context to Chelsea’s spending under Boehly paints an even starker picture. Since the Premier League was formed in 1992, just eight English clubs from the top four tiers have spent more money than Chelsea have in two years under Boehly.
In other words, Chelsea’s spend in the Boehly era alone sees them rank 10th when comparing them to every other club’s spending over the last 32 years.
And what do they have to show for it? Enzo Maresca is Chelsea’s fifth manager under their new ownership. He is tasked with the almost impossible job of placating a bloated squad full of undoubtedly talented players but very few of whom can get on the pitch. Sterling has been the first to publicly voice his discontent, but he can’t be the only player feeling like his future at the club is at serious risk.
Time will tell whether Chelsea’s policy of hoarding young talent on long contracts and low(ish) wages will bear fruit. In the short-term though, it’s hard to look at this as anything other than chaotic squad management. Maresca will have to trim his options down to a 25-player Premier League squad when the window closes next week. Who knows who he’ll pick.
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