The £4.25billion sale of Chelsea is set to be signed off by the Government today, after weeks of tense negotiations to ensure current owner Roman Abramovich does not benefit from the proceeds of the deal.
But a senior Whitehall insider warned a proposed takeover by American Todd Boehly “still has major hurdles to overcome”.
The deal needs to be given the green light by the European Commission, because Abramovich has a Portuguese passport and is an EU citizen.
There is optimism in the Boehly-led consortium that the process to buy Chelsea should be wrapped up before the May 31 deadline set by the Government.
But there is now a race against time to get the sale approved by Brussels and Lisbon.
Timing is tight and ministers fear Chelsea’s future will be at risk if deadlines for the club participating in the Premier League and Champions League next season are not met.
A deadline set by UEFA for Chelsea to register for next season’s Champions League is not until next Tuesday, but it is understood the process of moving the money involved in the deal needs to start imminently to ensure it is completed by the time of that deadline.
The Premier League meet next Thursday to hand out licenses for next season.
Chelsea have agreed terms on a sale with the private equity-funded consortium led by US investor Boehly, who is the co-owner of the LA Dodgers. He is leading a takeover backed by US-based investment firm Clearlake Capital, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter.
The deal is set to be given Premier League approval. But ministers wanted a guarantee that Abramovich would not get his hands on the money after being sanctioned for links to Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich’s advisers and the Government have been locked in talks for weeks over how to handle the proceeds and the £1.6bn in loans Abramovich made to Chelsea, which he has always insisted he would write off.
Now common ground has been reached on that issue, ministers are said to be in “intense discussions” with counterparts at the European Union and in Portugal to provide them the assurances they need to push the deal over the line.
The deal, if finally approved, would end Abramovich’s near two decade-long stint bankrolling Chelsea. It will also bring to an end a 12-week saga that was sparked by Abramovich officially putting the club up for sale on March 2.
Chelsea and Boehly are determined to complete the deal as soon as possible, with the new owner aware of the need to make up for lost time in the transfer market.
He fears they are playing catch-up with rivals in the Premier League and Europe because sanctions meant they have been unable to line up signings when the transfer window opens.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel wants two centre-backs and cover at wing-back, and could also look to strengthen in attack and midfield.
