Roman Abramovich sells Chelsea. The Russian oligarch put the English club up for sale in early March against the backdrop of war between Russia and Ukraine due to his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. After freezing his assets, the British government has given the green light for the sale of the Blues through a special license and an authorization from the Treasury Department. The bid deadline for Chelsea expired a week ago on March 18, and now a decision will have to be made. But who could take over the 55-year-old at Stamford Bridge? According to the Financial Times, the eligible buyers would be a group of US investors, led by billionaires Todd Boelhy e Hansjoerg Wyss with an offer of no less than 3 billion pounds. There are still no certainties, only speculation about possible buyers, what is certain is that the English club will be taken out of the hands of the Russian oligarch at the end of the month.
Abramovich sells Chelsea: to whom?
With the 'Abramovich sells Chelsea' announcement, more than 200 bids have been made to sign up for the English club, many of which have been made public, while sources close to the deal said many more have been presented privately. Others have only now been made public, such as the London-based global investment firm, centricus, who on Monday confirmed that it has proposed to buy Chelsea, with an offer spearheaded by co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam and CEO Garth Ritchie, both Blues season-ticket holders. Instead, many proposals have already been rejected such as that of the Saudi Media Group and Aethel Partners, but also that of Woody Johnson, co-owner of the New York Jets and former US ambassador to the United Kingdom.
It is still among the more “papable” names Nick Candy, London-based real estate developer and great Chelsea fan, also supported by Gianluca Vialli, co-owner of Tifosy, a mergers and acquisitions company for the football sector and by the American fund already owner of Milan and Lile, ready to help Candy take over the English club; the family ricketts, which owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team, and whose assets total an estimated $26,5 billion although their offer faced huge backlash on social media after it emerged that Joe Ricketts, the patriarch of the family, is accused of "Islamophobia" three years ago.
But in the shortlist, according to the Financial Times, the main contender would be the Swiss-American consortium which includes the entrepreneurs Todd Boehley e Hansjoerg Wyss who have put on the table an offer of 3 billion pounds. Boehly already owns shares in the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Sparks in basketball and the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball, as well as CEO and president of the private investment firm Elridge Industries. Boehly, by the way, had tried to acquire Chelsea in 2019 with a offer of 2,9 billion dollars (£2,21 billion). Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has joined forces with Boehly to cement their interest in buying Abramovich, with the 86-year-old having a long history in politics and philanthropy, particularly environmental and scientific causes in the United States.
A fundamental aspect for the Chelsea lawyers of The Rain Group - which deals with the sale of the club - would be to present to the English government and the Premier League only one candidate and not a shortlist of names. In this way saving time but above all money given that Chelsea's operating liquidity is limited. But how can Abramovich sell Chelsea despite being on the EU and US blacklist? Let's take a step back.
Abramovich sells Chelsea despite sanctions
Undoubtedly one of the most significant events in Chelsea's history, the Russian will leave behind a legacy of trophy-filled glory (21 including 5 league titles) as the London giants became the most successful club in England since its acquisition in 2003 (for about 190 million) arriving to spend millions on the best players and coaches.
He was then struck by sanctions by the British government, due to his alleged ties to Vladimir Putin. Abramovich's UK assets are all frozen except Chelsea who operate under a strict special government license to sell him as soon as possible (On March 12, the Premier League disqualified Abramovich as Chelsea manager, potentially easing the sale process) . But the British government had placed various restrictions on the management of the club, allowing it to finish the season but with great difficulty not being able to buy new players, agree new contracts, or sell new tickets for matches or even sell club merchandise and with limits on how much the team can spend on travel and hospitality for fans during home games.
And most importantly, Abramovich cannot profit from the sale of Chelsea. To allow the sale of the English club, the Russian tycoon has agreed to the government to take over the sale process and therefore also the destination of the funds raised: part of the proceeds will be donated to charity and the rest in a frozen account awaiting international developments.
Chelsea: restrictions are loosened but not for Abramovich
Chelsea sanctions eased After two weeks of negotiations between the English club and the government, the heads of the UK government's executive department responsible for culture and sport have announced a number of changes regarding the club's operating licence. THE fans will be able to buy tickets for Blues matches provided that Abramovich doesn't earn a cent: all proceeds will in fact go either to the league organizing the tournament or to the host club, in the case of away matches. While the money of the opposing fans destined for Chelsea will be donated to charity for the victims of the war in Ukraine.
Chelsea fans will be able to secure a place in the FA Cup fixtures against Crystal Palace at Wembley, but will be able to follow Chelsea away to the Premier League again. Admission will be permitted only to season ticket holders.
However, a few days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly asked the allies not to sanction the Russian. As revealed by the Wall Street Journal, Zelensky would have asked Joe Biden and the EU to wait for the sanctions as the oligarch could play an important role in the peace negotiations with Russia, pushing Putin towards a mediation that at the moment seems distant.
Abramovich in talks to buy a new team
But the Russian tycoon does not give up: wants to recreate Chelsea or maybe he doesn't want to leave football. Abramovich managed to secure several of his companies' shares just on the eve of the Russian invasion – which fueled suspicions that he was privy to Putin's plans – and his two super yachts, Solaris and Eclipse, were sighted in the Turkish port. Turkey has not currently imposed any sanctions on Russia and Putin's oligarchs. In this way Abra managed to evade the sanctions imposed on him by the EU and the United Kingdom.
Therefore, not all of his considerable assets have been affected, and according to the latest rumors from England and the Bosphorus speak of Abramovich's interest in acquiring a football club, the Göztepe team that plays in the Süper Lig, the top football league in Turkey, based in the city of Izmir.
Apparently there have already been contacts between the outgoing president of the Giallorossi and Abramovich's loyalists, in which the point was made on the club's market valuation. It cannot be excluded that in the coming days there could already be a face-to-face between Mehmet Sepil and Roman Abramovich.
