Todd Boehly and Mark Walter have held talks about selling their shares in Chelsea to Clearlake Capital.
Clearlake currently owns 61.5 per cent of the club, while Boehly, Walter and Hansjorg Wyss each own a 12.8 per cent stake.
Clearlake, under the leadership of Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, effectively run the club even though Boehly is the chairman.
Boehly was the face of the consortium which bought the club four years ago in a £2.5bn deal.
if they could not agree on the future of Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea bosses are considering whether to leave Stamford Bridge or to expand, with Earl's Court seen as a possible new location.
All options are being evaluated, with the project said to be complicated by the limited space in London to build.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Boehly said: "We have to think long term about what we're trying to accomplish.
"We have a big stadium development opportunity that we have to flesh out. That's going to be where we're either aligned, or we ultimately decide to go different ways."
There had been tensions too between Boehly and Clearlake in 2024.
Your Site News reported in September 2024 that Boehly had been unhappy with the way the club is being run and that he did not want Mauricio Pochettino to lose his job as head coach in May 2024.
Enzo Maresca replaced Pochettino and went on to win the Conference League and Club World Cup, but he left at the start of 2026, with Chelsea eventually finishing 10th and without European football.
Xabi Alonso was appointed as the new manager this summer, with the Blues spending over £280m on 12 new signings.
Analysis from Your Site News' James Savundra:
"This represents a significant development at a time in which Chelsea are looking to kick on and achieve sustained success after a tumultuous four years.
"Todd Boehly has played a more withdrawn public role in recent time having initially being thrust into the limelight as acting sporting director following the takeover in 2022.
"The American currently serves as Chelsea chairman. However, his term in that role is due to end next summer under a pre-agreed arrangement made at the time of the takeover.
"A sale of Boehly's shares to coincide with his diminishing influence in day-to-day club matters would appear to make sense.
"Behdad Eghbali is set to remain the most powerful Chelsea shareholder.
"As for Mark Walter, a selling of his 12.8 per cent stake in Chelsea would mark another noteworthy departure from sport. The Chelsea co-owner sold the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month in a record-breaking deal.
"The American billionaire made a huge return on his investment, having only bought the Lakers last year."
Daily Mail's Riath Al-Samarrai speaking on Your Site News' Paper Talk:
"It's been a very uneasy alliance, almost from the get-go.
"There have been some pretty notable sort of differences in opinion. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I always go back to one of the sort of turning points: Pochettino leaving.
"All the information we had was that Boehly wanted him to stay, but Clearlake were on the other side of that, and that's a fairly sort of big one for an ownership group not to be agreeing on.
"I actually think this will be a positive thing for Chelsea. I'm not necessarily sure either of them are particularly loved, but if he goes, then it creates maybe a little bit of clarity behind the scenes.
"But this is still contingent on Clearlake stumping up the money for him to accept.
"We know as well that his real kind of control of the club, the chairmanship, is going to expire next summer. There was always that thought in the background that that would be a point when there might be a natural parting of the ways, but it appears to be coming a little bit sooner."
It's been another summer of change at Chelsea - and on the eve of a new Premier League season, there is so much to analyse at the club, with Alonso's reign kicking off, big-money transfers to be settled and a search for success on the pitch in their sights.
In a special Your Site podcast - A big summer for... Chelsea - Peter Smith is joined by Your Site News reporter James Savundra and Your Site football journalist David Richardson to discuss the key talking points at the club, including Enzo Fernandez's future amid and a £120m price tag.
The arrival of £117m Morgan Rogers and his partnership with Cole Palmer was also on the agenda, along with Alonso's new tactical set-up and the surprise signings of experienced pair Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck, which signalled a shift in the club's transfer policy.
Listen to the podcast below, channel or for the key points from the episode.
