Sanctions on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich threatened to derail the Russian’s attempts to sell the club. However, the United Kingdom government was able to strike an agreement with the relevant parties and allowed the process to resume.
The Athletic reports that discussions were held between the government and Raine Group – the New York-based bank charged with the handling of the sale – in the aftermath of the revelations, and the former has, since, allowed the latter to resume its process of finding a suitable buyer for the club.
Meanwhile, a report from the Telegraph claims that Abramovich also gave the go-ahead for sale to take place, despite there being some initial fears that the oligarch would stall the process being in danger of losing up to 3 billion pounds – widely reported as his expected price. The deadline to submit bids was initially set for March 15, but it will be shifted till the end of next week to facilitate interested parties.
There have been no formal bids yet for Chelsea, as per The Athletic’s report, despite claims that a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Hasjorg Wyss had officially lodged an offer with Raine. However, there remains confidence among all the parties involved that a solution can be found within the next four to six weeks, allowing Chelsea to conclude their season uninterrupted.
The Blues are currently operating under a special license issued by the government, which allows them to conduct day-to-day functions with restricted capacity. To pass on the ownership, the Raine Group will need to apply for a second license – which it intends to do once a buyer is found.
A queue of potential buyers is lining up to explore the possibility of purchasing the club from Abramovich in the meantime. Apart from the Boehly-Wyss alliance, the Ricketts family, Woody Johnson, and Nick Candy have also been listed as credible parties – although none, in particular, are thought to be close to securing a deal just yet.
