Todd Boehly believes Chelsea’s transfer spend of more than £1billion is an “investment”, and that the majority of their signings have retained their value.
Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Cole Palmer are among the players brought in since Boehly and Clearlake took over at Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in May 2022.
The new consortium have faced criticism for Chelsea’s decline since a sensational first three transfer windows broke a series of records, including the all-time European spend in a single season and the British transfer record.
But with Chelsea now pushing for a place in the Europa League through improved performances under Mauricio Pochettino, Boehly said at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. "When we are spending, we are investing and those players continue to hold their value.
“So what we are thinking of is what does it cost to finance that portfolio of players. Some will go up and some will go down in value, but I argue the investments made at Chelsea have held their value.
“We are not spending the money, we are investing the money. So when we buy, we are just thinking about the cost of carry."
The co-controlling owner again appeared to throw his support behind Pochettino, whose future remains uncertain, adding: "The number one thing is you have got to be patient.
“You are putting something together and expecting it come together really quickly, but the reality is anything really good takes a little bit time. Patience was always a thought for us.
“We think this is a really young and exciting team that will be together for a long time. If you look at franchises that dominate for a long time they have real stability in the team, front office and coaching staff.
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"So to be able to lay the groundwork and start with stability in the team, and having a young squad with longer than average contracts [is a good start]. And the reality is in European football, a seven year contract is really a five year contract because you are never going to let a contract expire to the last year. You’re either going to extend the contract or see what’s best for the player and the club.
"When we bought the Dodgers in 2013 we started 15-25, but we kind of just kept sticking to the plan because we believed that it was right. And we went through a similar thing with Chelsea.
"You have to have the resolve to not hear all the noise around you and remain committed to the plan. And since Boxing Day, we are the fourth best team in the Premier League. When you look at what is going on now, it feels better and better."
