At 1:47 am this morning, Chelsea FC announced that Todd Boehly and his consortium had signed an agreement to purchase Chelsea from Roman Abramovich. The deal still has to be approved by the UK Government and the Premier League before it can be completed. However, things are looking positive, and this is the most significant step towards resolving this Chelsea ownership mess. It is now believed that a deal will be done ahead of the May 31st deadline.
Raine Group has now chosen Todd Boehly, backed by Clearlake Capital, alongside Mark Walter, and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss as their preferred new owners for the club. This is despite a last-minute wild bid from the UK’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe. There were rumors that the sanctions-hit Abramovich would demand his £1.6bn investment in the club, but the Russian dismissed those concerns earlier this week.
As part of the agreement, Boehly’s group has agreed to invest a set amount of £1.75bn to ensure the continued development of the club. A large chunk of this fund will go towards redeveloping Stamford Bridge which Roman was keen on. Chelsea confirmed in a statement that “£2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club, and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account to donate 100 percent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich.”
“In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the Club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the Academy, the Women’s Team, and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation. The sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. More details will be provided at that time.”
Chelsea fans will say goodbye to a trophy-laden Roman era, and they will be hoping that the removal of Abramovich as their owner goes a long way to help repair war-torn Ukraine.
