Todd Boehly, a part-owner of the LA Dodgers, is behind a consortium that is interested in buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich put the club up for sale in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the UK government continues to impose sanctions of Russian businesses and billionaires.
On Wednesday morning Swiss investor Hansjorg Wyss revealed that he had been offered the chance to purchase Chelsea, adding that he would prefer to do so as part of a consortium. The situation is moving quickly and further details have now emerged about Wyss’ plans.
As reported by Nicola Imfeld, it appears that the driving force behind the potential offer is in fact Boehly – who previously attempted to buy Chelsea in 2019. The pair have collaborated on business ventures in the past and look set to work together again on a Stamford Bridge takeover.
Abramovich is said to be concerned about the UK freezing his assets and wants out of the club as soon as possible. As a result his team have asked interested parties to submit offers by the weekend. In the past he has rejected bids of £2.2bn for the club, but his current asking price is unclear. The pressure is ramping up on Abramovich to sell with MPs from across the political spectrum questioning why he was not included on the initial list of sanctioned billionaires, despite his apparent association with Vladimir Putin.
Most recently, leader of the opposition Keir Starmer said during Prime Minster’s Questions: “Last week the prime minister said that Abramovich was facing sanctions. He later corrected the record to say that he isn’t. Well, why on earth isn’t he?”
He added: “Why are we giving Putin’s cronies 18 months to quietly launder their money out of the UK property market and into another safe haven?”
90min.com
