Chelsea 'to remain at Stamford Bridge if Boehly loses battle'

Chelsea will remain at Stamford Bridge and expand the ground's capacity to 55,000 if Todd Boehly loses his his boardroom struggle with Behdad Eghbali.

As reported by The Sun, there is a disagreement between co-owners Boehly and Eghbali regarding the club's future.

Boehly would prefer for Chelsea to find a new home, and has his sights on a new 60,000-capacity stadium in Earls Court.

However, Eghbali favours a £1.5billion renovation of Stamford Bridge, which currently has a capacity of 40,000.

The pair want to buy each other out, while the proposed Earl's Court project seems increasingly unlikely. 

If Chelsea were to expand Stamford Bridge then they would have to temporarily move out of the ground for two years.

There are plans to improve the West Stand, which would include building concrete decks over a nearby railway line.

Eghbali doesn't want Stamford Bridge to be demolished and is wary that building a new stadium on the existing site could take up to five years.

Last month former Chelsea defender William Gallas criticised the civil war between Boehly and Eghbali. Gallas described the situation as 'a real mess'.

Gallas, who played for Chelsea between 2001 and 2006, told Prime Casino: 'The club is in a real mess. I think it's always difficult when you have two groups of people, or two stakes in one football club. There needs to be total alignment if you want to have a successful club, both on the pitch and in the boardroom. 

'The best clubs have one leader, with everyone pulling in the same direction. It's not difficult to get the structure right at an elite club with the resources of Chelsea, but it's all over the place. The best owners don't want to get involved.

'They provide support, but most of these guys have no expertise in football or running football clubs. They employ a Sporting Director; the Sporting Director sets the philosophy and brings in the players and the right coach. It's a simple chain of command.'