Chelsea’s takeover saga has continued to heat up this week, as a number of bidders have travelled to London for talks and discussions over the club. A select few bidders were recently chosen by Raine Bank, the people in charge of the takeover process, to reach the next stage of consideration.
It comes as the Blues were put up for sale last month by owner Roman Abramovich. The Russian businessman was hit by UK Government sanctions in wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the report claiming he was a “Pro-Kremlin oligarch” with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Roman Abramovich has always denied links with Vladimir Putin, but was involved in early peace talks between Russia and Ukraine recently. The sanctions placed on him by the UK Government included the freezing of his assets, with Chelsea operating under a special sporting licence.
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The 55-year-old has since put the club up for sale, with The Ricketts family, Todd Boehly, David Blitzer and Josh Harris, and Stephen Pagliuca the reported four remaining bids left. While Chelsea fans have displayed their discontent with the Ricketts family, their pursuit of Chelsea continues.
They are chairpeople of the Chicago Cubs in America and are said to have a number of investors behind their attempted Chelsea bid. One of those investors is American billionaire Ken Griffin, who the Daily Star report has flown into London for takeover talks.
Griffin, who has made his money through investment, is said to be worth four times that of Abramovich, who had sunk an extreme amount of money into the club. The American, according to Forbes, is worth £21billion compared to the Russian who was worth roughly £6billion.
With the contest to own Chelsea heating up, his input could have a vital say on who the next owners are. With the future of the Blues in the balance, it remains to be seen how this one will play out.
