The fate of English Premier League side Chelsea FC needs to be decided quickly, in order for the club to operate properly this summer and into the upcoming 2022-23 football season. It seemed like the ownership of the club would soon pass to one of three American potential buyers, but it has now been revealed that a huge bid worth 5 billion euros has been submitted by British chemical tycoon Jim Ratcliffe.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club after he was slapped with sanctions by the UK government earlier this year in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich has been identified as a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, something that he has since denied. However, that did not stop the government from freezing his assets, including Chelsea FC.
The UK Parliament has agreed to allow Abramovich to sell the club so that it could continue to operate. Under the sanctions, the club is currently unable to negotiate player contracts among other commercial transactions.
Chelsea had been in a state of limbo, but now billionaire chemical tycoon Jim Ratcliffe has submitted a last minute bid despite the fact that the deadline was supposed to have been two weeks ago. The owner of chemical company INEOS, is looking to make further investments in the sporting world after having already bought Ligue 1 side Nice. INEOS is also a partner of the AMG-Mercedes Formula 1 team, which is probably how Lewis Hamilton ended up putting in a personal investment into the Chelsea bid.
According to Marca, 3 billion euros from the total bid is meant to be the outright payment for ownership of the London-based club. The remaining 2 billion euros will go into a long-term project of upgrading Stamford Bridge as well as keeping the club competitive and lifting its value to be in the same league as European greats like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
“This is a British bid, for a British club. We will invest in Stamford Bridge to make it a world-class stadium, befitting of Chelsea FC. This will be organic and ongoing so that we will not move away from the home of Chelsea and risk losing the support of loyal fans,” read a statement released by INEOS.
The project will be long-term, with both the men’s and women’s teams as well as the academy also benefiting from the cash flow. It remains to be seen if the bid will be accepted by the UK Parliament, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson also directly involved.
Prior to this, LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly had been the favourite to buy Chelsea.
