Alonso welcomes Clearlake's full Chelsea takeover as Boehly era ends

Xabi Alonso has described Clearlake Capital’s assumption of complete control at Chelsea as an ‘important day’ for the club, after shareholders Todd Boehly and Mark Walter sold their combined stakes — roughly a quarter of the club — to end a four-year ownership chapter at Stamford Bridge.

Clearlake, co-founded by Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, joined forces with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss to acquire the remaining minority stakes. The deal brings to a close Boehly’s hands-on tenure as chairman in the post-Roman Abramovich era, during which he was closely involved in a series of high-profile and expensive signings.

Alonso, appointed Chelsea head coach in the summer, was measured but warm in his assessment of the transition. “Thanks to the former owners for what they have done. I was not here but I know that they played an important role,” he said. “Now that Behdad is taking more control, or almost full control, I think it is good that the main one is clear.”

The Spaniard also revealed the personal nature of his relationship with Eghbali, who flew to Madrid to persuade him to take the job. “He was the one who came to Madrid to explain the project to convince me and we are working well together,” Alonso said. “This is phase one we have completed in the project of the squad. It is good and now we move on together.”

On the pitch, Chelsea face Brentford on Friday night in their final Premier League fixture before a three-week international break. Alonso confirmed that late fitness checks are planned for captain Reece James, Marco Palestra, and Jordan Henderson, while Moises Caicedo could return to the squad after missing three matches with injury.

Joao Pedro is also a possibility to feature despite being ruled out of Brazil’s international squad with an undisclosed problem. Alonso declined to specify the nature of the injury but said no player had been formally ruled out ahead of the final training session. He added that Pedro had moved on from his World Cup omission over the summer and was showing strong determination this season, expressing confidence the forward would earn a Brazil call-up in the future.