'Mbappe of baseball' signs $700m contract with Todd Boehly's LA Dodgers
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 10 Dec 2023 12:40 GMT
- 3 min read
Baseball star Shohei Ohtani has chosen to join the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 10-year contract worth $700 million.
The Japanese player will earn an annual salary of $70m with the Dodgers, who are owned by Todd Boehly - the American billionaire who purchased Chelsea last year.
The deal is a new record in baseball and it’s believed to be the largest contract in worldwide sports history, exceeding Lionel Messi's $674 million deal with Barcelona from 2017 to 2021.
Ohtani is one of the greatest baseball players of all time already, at just 29 years old, and he has left the Angels to join their biggest rivals - the Dodgers.
It is a huge coup for Boehly, who has added arguably the best baseball player in the world to the club he owns.
Someone explained this to me in football terms; it's like Chelsea signing Kylian Mbappé, they said.
MLB fans, is this right? https://t.co/uC7mrXmC0P
— Chelsea Dodgers (@TheBlueDodger) December 9, 2023
The 10-year deal signed by Ohtani also means that he is likely to stay with the LA Dodgers until he retires, unless he is poached by another team.
Ohtani has been called ‘the Kylian Mbappe of baseball’ on social media in recent days, with Chelsea owner Boehly sealing a massive signing for the Dodgers.
The American billionaire has attempted a similarly lucrative strategy with Chelsea, but without much success.
Chelsea’s huge spending since 2022
The Blues have spent over €1 billion since he became the club’s owner in 2022 and they are currently languishing in 10th place in the Premier League table.
Both Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez have joined the club for a fee in excess of €115m since the start of the year, but neither have been able to justify that investment thus far.
Calls for Mauricio Pochettino’s head have intensified since the 2-1 loss to Manchester United in midweek and the west London club are currently closer to the relegation zone (10 points) than the top four (11 points).
Napoli’s Victor Osimhen has been identified as a key transfer target for next year as Chelsea look to finally sign a prolific striker, something that hasn't been done since Diego Costa left the club to rejoin Atletico Madrid following a bust-up with Antonio Conte.
