Sky News are reporting that Rock Entertainment Group (REG) is set to join forces with the Ricketts family as they pursue the purchase of Chelsea Football Club. There are four contenders remaining in the race to buy the club, with final bids needing to be submitted before April 11.
The Ricketts family are the most controversial of the remaining bidders, with many Chelsea supporters vocal about their dislike of the interested party. Some Blues fans gathered outside of Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon, prior to the side's 4-1 defeat to Brentford, to protest against the Ricketts.
Tom Ricketts released a statement recently to update fans on his family's bidding process. He said: "Over the past fortnight, our bid team has met with several supporter groups to explain our vision for Chelsea Football Club. In those meetings, and by letter to all groups, we have shared a set of specific commitments we will make to fans, if our bid is successful.
READ MORE: Chelsea sale: Who is Dan Gilbert? The £23.6bn businessman interested in helping fund purchase
"We believe these are far-reaching and certainly include an absolute commitment on part of the Ricketts Family and the bid team to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of the club. We look forward to more meetings - including with the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust - over the coming days and to making a public reiteration of our values and commitments.”
With Gilbert now involved in the bid, football.london takes a look at the 60-year-old's reported net worth. The aforementioned report from Sky News claims that the Detroit-born businessman is worth $31billion (£23.6bn).
Gilbert owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, and REG are also owners of the Cleveland Monsters ice hockey team and the NBA G-League team Cleveland Charge. Gilbert also has stakes in the e-sports arena, with a big stake in 100 Thieves. It has been reported that the businessman has an empire of over 100 affiliated companies across America.
