Chelsea owners enter talks to buy Portuguese club after Lyon, Santos & Sochaux rejections

Chelsea’s owners are in talks to purchase Portuguese side Portimonense after being rejected by three other clubs as they look to build out their multi-club network, according to reports. 

After buying Chelsea back in May, the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital want to add clubs to the Blues’ network in the hope of aiding their recruitment plans. 

They have targeted several countries where they want to buy clubs as they believe it will help them with recruiting the best young players and giving them top-level experience across Europe and South America.

Co-owner Todd Boehly shared his plans at the SALT Conference in New York for Chelsea and the multi-club network model, offering comparisons to Red Bull and Manchester City’s work.  

“We’re going to be continuously adding resources. We’ve talked about having a multi-club model. I would love to continue to build out the footprint.

"There is different countries where there are advantages to having a club - Red Bull does a really good job with Leipzig and Salzburg, both of which are playing in the Champions League. So they’ve figured out how to make that work.

“You have Man City that also has a big network of clubs. The challenge that Chelsea has right now, or at least one of them, is when you have 18/19/20-year-old superstars, you can loan them out to clubs, but you put their development in someone else’s hands.

“So our goal is to make sure we can show pathways for our young superstars to get onto the Chelsea pitch, while getting them real game time. And for me, the way do that is through another club in a really competitive league in Europe.”

Interest in Portugal, Belgium, France and Brazil has already been touted and now Nizaar Kinsella of the Evening Standard reports that work is underway to buy a club in Portugal. 

It’s claimed that discussions have been held with Portimonense, who are fourth in Primeira Liga, with super-agent Jorge Mendes consulted over potential clubs for the Chelsea owners to purchase. 

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They have been turned down by French side Sochaux, as well as Santos in Brazil, but another club has been the subject of interest from Chelsea. 

As reported by Ed Aarons of The Guardian, Chelsea made a late bid to buy Lyon in September despite Crystal Palace investor John Textor having agreed a deal in June. 

Chelsea’s new President of Business Tom Glick has been tasked with the job of helping find clubs to add to the multi-club network for the Blues. 

He has been backed by the new owners, with Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano declaring on his arrival: “Tom is a terrific addition to Chelsea FC and will advance our long-term plans for the club. 

“He has the experience and credentials to elevate our significant global standing and help lead our commitment to strengthen the club through investments in squad additions, infrastructure, technology, the youth academy, and the women’s team.”