Chelsea's search for a new owner has progressed to four publically known groups putting forward their pitches to take the west London club off Roman Abramovich's hands. They must submit their final offers by April 11th, with Raine Group hoping to present the favoured group to the government the following week. The special operating licence Chelsea is working under can be amended to allow the sale.
Raine have informed Todd Boehly, the Ricketts family, Martin Broughton and a group led by Stephen Pagliuca that they must commit at least £1billion to invest in the playing squad and Stamford Bridge's redevelopment. As revealed by football.london, the government is unlikely to impose any hard conditions apart from ensuring Roman Abramovich does not receive any money from a sale.
Thomas Tuchel's work could be impacted more than most by changes in the Chelsea hierarchy. At this stage in the process, groups are set to meet the club's executive and hold conversations with supporters' groups and the like. Concerns have been raised over meetings the Ricketts family held before the shortlist was confirmed, facilitated by Bruce Buck.
