Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is looking to expand his portfolio of teams (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have ‘very concrete interest’ in a minority stake at Sporting Lisbon, according to reports.
The American duo are looking to expand their portfolio of teams and kickstarted their multi-club project by buying a majority stake in French side Strasbourg in the summer.
They have also held talks with Sporting about acquiring a stake in the historic Portuguese side, a move that would allow them to cherry-pick from the club’s conveyor belt of academy talents.
According to Portuguese outlet Record, Boehly and Eghbali’s plans to invest in Sporting are no longer on the back burner having overcome obstacles in negotiations.
It is thought that Boehly invited Sporting representatives to Stamford Bridge in April to watch Chelsea’s Champions League clash against Real Madrid.
Boehly has previously said that he sees Portugal as ‘the perfect place’ to invest in a new football club to develop Chelsea’s younger players.
Chelsea’s owners have been in ‘intense’ contact with Sporting over the last 12 months.
Sporting Lisbon are the current league leaders in the Portuguese top-flight (Picture: Getty)
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It is reported that the Blues were interested in signing Andre from Fluminense in the summer and were willing to loan him straight to Sporting – who wanted to bring him in but deemed him too expensive – before the deal fell through.
Meanwhile, Belenenses president Patrick Morais de Carvalho says it would be an affront to Portuguese football if Chelsea bought a stake in the 19-time Primeira Liga champions.
‘I think it is a plan and an intention that offends Portugal,’ he said. ‘In this case it also offends Sporting fans and fans of Portuguese football in general.’
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