Chelsea sale edging closer to being ratified

sport
Chelsea Sale Edging Closer To Being Ratified
Todd Boehly, © PA Wire/PA Images
Share this article

By Nick Purewal, PA

The sale of Chelsea football club is inching ever closer to being ratified, the PA news agency understands.

Roman Abramovich now expects to have met the UK government requirements for the granting of a new sale licence, it is understood.

Advertisement

Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich has hoped for some time to have been able to satisfy government expectations on how to handle his £1.5 billion (€1.7 billion) loan to Chelsea.

Roman Abramovich file photo
Roman Abramovich, pictured, will sell Chelsea after 19 years owning the Stamford Bridge club (Adam Davy/PA)

The 55-year-old is thought to be confident those demands have been reached, which would finally pave the way for Downing Street to sign off on the sale.

Advertisement

Abramovich is understood to have provided confirmation to the UK government that his associate Demetris Ioannides has resigned from the trust owning Camberley International, the company holding that £1.5 billion debt he intends to write off.

The UK government sanctions against Abramovich mean he must not benefit from Chelsea’s sale, with the debt expected to be frozen and then later converted to equity.

Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly has already agreed a £4.25 billion (€4.9 billion) purchase of the Blues, with Abramovich’s ownership tenure poised to end after 19 years.

US magnate Boehly will become Chelsea’s controlling owner once the takeover is complete, though California investment firm Clearlake Capital will assume the majority shareholding.

Advertisement

Boehly’s consortium completing the takeover will bring to an end a 12-week saga that was sparked by Abramovich officially putting the Blues up for sale on March 2nd.

Chelsea’s players and staff found out the club was being sold at Kenilworth Road, amid final preparations for their FA Cup fifth-round clash at Luton Town.

The Blues prevailed 3-2 despite the obvious distractions, as Abramovich released a statement pledging to write off the club’s debt and set up a foundation to aid victims of the war in Ukraine.

Advertisement
Chelsea v Watford – Premier League – Stamford Bridge
Todd Boehly, centre, with Hansjorg Wyss, second left, who are both part of the consortium poised to complete the Chelsea takeover (Adam Davy/PA)

Abramovich was then sanctioned by the UK government on March 10th, with Downing Street claiming to have proven his links to Russia president Vladimir Putin.

Chelsea were put under a strict government operating licence, with all of Abramovich’s other UK assets frozen.

Once Boehly’s takeover is complete the Blues will be able to return to business as usual – and there will be no time to lose on reconfiguring the playing squad.

Advertisement

The sanctions meant Chelsea could not conduct any transfer business, with either existing players or external targets.

Antonio Rudiger is joining Real Madrid on a free transfer and Andreas Christensen is headed to Barcelona, so the Blues need two centre-backs to start their summer window business.

Sevilla’s Jules Kounde has been a long-term target and Chelsea are understood to have the chance to wrap up a quick deal to recruit the France defender.

Manager Thomas Tuchel will want to resolve the futures of club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso too, with both Spanish wing-backs also further targets for Barcelona.

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com