Raheem Sterling strikes a pose that captures the ambition every football player wants to convey when joining a new club. Only the California palm trees behind him suggest this isn’t just any transfer in the English Premier League.
The Beverly Hills photo shoot for Chelsea FC’s £50mn signing underscores how things have changed at the Premier League club since a consortium led by US financier Todd Boehly and California-based investment firm Clearlake Capital acquired it from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. It might also reflect its global ambitions.
The site is only a 20-minute drive away from the baseball franchise where Boehly and co-owner Mark Walter, Guggenheim Partners’ chief executive, made their names as sports investors: the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Crypto.com Arena, home of the LA Lakers basketball team, another of their investments, is nearby.