Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia have been offered the option to stay at the club if bidder Todd Boehly manages to complete a takeover. It comes after the consortium led by Boehly was named preferred bidder last week.
The ownership saga is nearing its third month, following owner Roman Abramovich's sanctions from the UK Government after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While his assets were frozen, the club were placed under a special sporting licence, which expires at the end of this month.
This has only emphasised the need for the takeover to go through, with US Banking firm Raine in charge of the process. Bidders were slimmed down to a final three until Boehly’s consortium was recently named the preferred bidder.
READ MORE: Todd Boehly handed huge boost in Chelsea takeover amid £1.6bn Abramovich problem
There are fears that the process may be held up further by reports of Abramovich requiring his £1.6billion loan to be repaid, however the owners’ and directors’ test is said to have been passed by the bidders. With the club set to undergo a lot of changes under prospective new ownership, there may be some transition off the pitch as much as there is set to be on it.
However, according to the Financial Times, Todd Boehly has offered chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia the chance to stay at the club, should his takeover be successful. The report claims that the offer would leave the hierarchy largely unchanged from recent years, though both are free to leave if they do not wish to stay on.
Buck, 76, has chaired the club since 2004, having advised Abramovich on potentially buying the club one-year prior in 2003. Granovskaia, 47, was linked to the Russian owner since 1997 from his then-owned energy company Sibneft, now known as Gazprom.
She then moved to London after the Blues were bought and represented on the board. She was then made director in 2013, winning the Best Club Director in European football award for last season.
While both could stay on, the Financial Times report adds that some MPs are "unsettled" by any continuation of the Abramovich regime. Whether they continue at the club remains to be seen in a takeover saga that is continue to take twists and turns.
