Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss claims he has received an offer to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, whom he says is trying to sell the club “quickly”.
In an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick, Wyss, the 86-year-old founder of multinational medical device manufacturer Synthes, said he would be interested in a potential purchase of the reigning European champions, but only as part of a consortium with “six to seven investors”.
Chelsea’s ownership situation has been shrouded in uncertainty of late after Abramovich - who has been in control of the club since 2003 - made the shock announcement last weekend that he was handing “care and stewardship” of the Blues to the trustees of their charitable foundation.
However, that plan has since hit a number of snags, with those trustees making a serious incident report to the Charity Commission as they seek legal clarity and advice over whether Abramovich’s proposal was feasible and how it would work.
Standard Sport reported yesterday that Chelsea’s lawyers were working on a legal framework to allow the passing over of stewardship to take place amid ongoing concerns from the trustees, a group headed by Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck and also including Emma Hayes, executive director of anti-discrimination group Fare Piara Powar, Lord Sebastian Coe, Paul Ramos, John Devine and Sir Hugh Robertson.
Abramovich’s initial announcement came two days after Russia invaded Ukraine and at a time when Labour MP Chris Bryant has been calling for the 55-year-old to be included among the list of oligarchs to be sanctioned by the UK Government.
Abramovich has yet to be sanctioned and has always denied links with Russian president Vladimir Putin, while his spokesperson said earlier this week that he was in Belarus trying to help broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Despite looking to step back, Abramovich was initially understood to have informed Chelsea’s trustees that the club is not for sale and that he has no intention of considering any bids going forward.
However, Wyss has now claimed that Abramovich is trying to actively sell the club fast.
“Abramovich is trying to sell all his villas in England, he also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly,” he said. “I and three other people received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich.
“I have to wait four to five days now. Abramovich is currently asking far too much. You know, Chelsea owe him £2 billion. But Chelsea has no money.
“As of today, we don’t know the exact selling price. I can well imagine starting at Chelsea with partners,” added Wyss.
“But I have to examine the general conditions first. But what I can already say: I’m definitely not doing something like this alone. If I buy Chelsea, then with a consortium consisting of six to seven investors.”
