Newcastle United’s owners paid £305 million to take over the team, which appeared like a relative bargain after Chelsea sold their women’s side to a parent company for £200 million.
“It certainly looks like a decent price.”
Those were Jamie Reuben’s words less than two years after Newcastle United’s owners finalised their £305 million buyout. Although it is important recalling Newcastle’s catastrophic state at the time, as well as the subsequent sums that had to be injected into the club, it still appears to be a relative bargain.
After all, Chelsea has subsequently been sold for £4.25 billion. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority shareholding in Manchester United cost him £1.25 billion. Even Everton commanded a price well in excess of £305 million following the club’s acquisition last year.
Alexis Ohanian has acquired a 10% stake in Chelsea Women at around £20 million. The American, who co-founded Reddit, described it as a ‘hell yes-type investment’.
“I’ve bet big on women’s sports before – as founding control owner of Angel City Football Club – and I’m doing it again,” he said. “I’m proud to announce that I’m joining Chelsea FC Women as an investor and board member. I’m honored for the chance to help this iconic club become every American’s favorite WSL team and much, much more.
“These players are rewriting the game. Undefeated season. Eyes on the treble. But this isn’t just about winning titles. It’s about finally matching their talent with the resources, visibility, and respect they deserve. I’ve been right about this before and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Chelsea Women’s success and promise is undeniable, as Ohanian apparently needed no reminding. The Blues have won six consecutive WSL titles, and this season they became the first team to go undefeated in 22 games. Sonia Bompastor’s team, who won the Women’s League Cup earlier this season, is aiming for a domestic treble when they face Manchester United in the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
Todd Boehly, Chelsea’s co-owner, has confidently projected that the women’s team will be worth hundreds of millions of pounds in the future, yet the club’s most recent accounts show that the side earned slightly more than £11.5 million last season.
That’s why several people were surprised when Chelsea sold their women’s team to a sibling firm for £200 million to comply with PSR requirements. The deal is still subject to top-flight approval, just as the sale of two club-owned hotels was before the value was reduced, and Chelsea has confirmed that the agreement includes a clause requiring a ‘adjustment to the consideration receivable in the event that the Premier League’s determination of the fair market value differs from the £200 million recognised’.
According to sports finance expert Kieran Maguire, it makes the consortium’s £305 million purchase of Newcastle look like a bargain.
“Newcastle, when they were sold, generated £150m in total revenue – broadcast, commercial, ticket sales,” he previously told the Price of Football. “Chelsea Women generated £11m. If you work it out – how much was the club sold for? How much money does it bring in? For every £1 Newcastle generated, it was sold for £2.
“It brought in £150m, it was sold for £300m-plus so we call that a multiplier. If you apply a multiplier of two to Chelsea, that would give a figure of £22m. Now you could validly say there is a lot of scope for growth in the women’s team and Chelsea’s men’s team went for a multiplier of five. Manchester United’s men’s team went for a multiplier of around seven last year so let’s apply that to Chelsea. That would give a value of somewhere between £50m-£75m – a long way short of £200m.
“Also, when you look at Newcastle, the new owners would be saying, ‘If we get this right, we get into the Champions League.’ How much is Europe worth? Around another £100m a year. Could we say the same for Chelsea’s women’s team? I don’t think you can and this is not a criticism of the women’s game. It’s a different sport, it’s got different parameters, it’s certainly got different financial KPIs.”
