Football England – Chelsea: They are only 6 for the post-Abramovich

A first skimming took place for the buyers of Chelsea, and the investors of Saudi Arabia were rejected.

More than twenty plans to take over Chelsea were filed a week ago with the offices of the Raine bank, responsible for changing hands of the English club. At the start of the war in Ukraine, Roman Abramovich was granted a few days’ reprieve before seeing his property and assets in the United Kingdom frozen or confiscated because of his involvement with Vladimir Putin. Chelsea is one of them, and currently, the London club lives at a deliberately slowed pace, pending its takeover. The investment bank in charge of the sale, which will not have the last word since the government and the Premier League will be consulted, has given the green light to 6 potential buyers, with one uncertainty, the BBC revealed on Friday. The British media announces that two projects have announced that they have received approval from the Raine bank. It is that of Sir Martin Broughton, the former leader of Liverpool, and that of Todd Boehly, the co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Saudi Arabia won’t buy Chelsea

Saudi Media Group has not made a shortlist of consortia aiming to buy Chelsea.

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 25, 2022

Several very large projects have for the moment been ruled out. That of an investment fund from Saudi Arabia, which would have nevertheless made an offer close to 3 billion euros. The funds did not come officially from the royal family, however, and therefore had no connection with the buyers of Newcastle. Another rejected project, that of local real estate investor Nick Candy, who was favored by Blues supporters. The Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs in the United States, would also have seen its project rejected. Several discussions are still underway, which prevents us from seeing things completely clearly, while a new list limiting the candidates will be issued in the coming days. The goal is then to have only one final project, which will be chosen according to the height of the bet, the rapid availability of funds, the long-term project and experience in the world of sport.