Chelsea are edging closer to finding out who will succeed Roman Abramovich as the club’s owner after Raine Group, the US-based investment firm overseeing the process, whittled the number of prospective candidates down to three on Friday.
US businessman Todd Boehly, who is collaborating with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and a rival consortium backed by ex-Liverpool chairman and Chelsea fan Sir Martin Broughton, have both progressed to the final stage.
The Ricketts family could controversially complete the set despite a backlash from former players and fans at their interest over racist emails sent by the 80-year-old head of the family, Joe Ricketts.
Chelsea’s first black player Paul Canoville and The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust [CST] have led the opposition against the Ricketts family after the Islamaphobic emails surfaced online.
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Amid speculation that the Ricketts family could progress to the final stage of the bidding process, CST released a statement on Friday to say “our concerns about their ability to run an inclusive, successful club on behalf of our diverse supporter base around the world have not yet been allayed”. CST met with the family earlier this week.
Bids from a Saudi Media Group and another involving British property developer and Chelsea fan Nick Candy, have been ruled out as has Woody Johnson, the great-grandson of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical empire.
Here are the candidates still in the running to buy Chelsea:
Todd Boehly
i revealed on 28 February that US investors were showing interest in the club and Boehly, who has an estimated fortune of £5bn and is the chairman and chief executive of investing firm Eldridge Industries, has emerged as the leading candidate.
Boehly worked at Citibank, Credit Suisse First Boston and JH Whitney & Co in his early career, before moving to Guggenheim Partners which is where he first dabbled in sporting enterprises.
In 2012, Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team for $2.15bn (£1.63bn). The consortium was led by investment partner Mark Walter and then director Boehly and included Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Billie Jean King among other sporting icons.
Boehly has a 20 per cent stake in the Dodgers and his decade-long involvement with the franchise has coincided with a sustained period of success which notably featured a first World Series win in 32 years in 2020.
This is not the first time that Boehly has sought to make inroads in the Premier League. In 2019, he made a £2.2bn offer for Chelsea in 2019 which was rejected by Abramovich, while in February The Athletic reported that he had previously held negotiations with Tottenham in the same year. Interestingly, Abramovich held an interest in Spurs before buying Chelsea in 2003.
Similarly to the deal to buy the Dodgers, Boehly has joined forces with other investors. As well as Wyss, British entrepreneur Jonathan Goldstein – a Tottenham fan – and California-based investment firm Clearlake Capital, are involved.
Sir Martin Broughton
Another group, fronted by self-confessed Chelsea supporter Sir Martin Broughton and backed by another in Sebastian Coe, is also in the running.
Broughton had a brief six-month spell as Liverpool chairman in between the transition from the calamitous Tom Hicks and George Gillet spell at Anfield to the far more successful Fenway Sports Group era.
Broughton, a former British Airways chairman, was knighted in the 2011 New Years Honours for services to British business.
American billionaires and Crystal Palace shareholders Josh Harris and David Blitzer, are believed to be the main financiers of the Broughton bid. Like Boehly, the pair have experience of running a US franchise having co-owned Major League Basketball’s Philadelphia 76ers since 2011.
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Lord Coe, the Olympic champion, London 2012 chief and current president of World Athletics, is backing Broughton’s consortium to buy the club and is expected to be on the board of directors should the bid succeed.
“I am certain that Sir Martin is the right man to lead Chelsea Football Club into its next chapter,” Coe said. “He has an exceptional track record in British business, as well as unrivalled experience in shepherding Liverpool out of a very difficult situation.
“He has the vision, acumen and financial backing to ensure our club’s future success, keeping Chelsea Football Club at the top of European football and challenging for trophies.
“But most importantly, like me, he is a lifelong Chelsea supporter and Shed End season-ticket holder. I know that this bid is for the millions of Chelsea fans around the world. We love our club and will always put the fans first.”
The Ricketts family?
The Ricketts family, who own Major League Baseball franchise team Chicago Cubs, remain hopeful of being considered by the Raine Group.
They are by a distance the most unpopular interested party among Chelsea’s fanbase as evidenced by the #NoToRicketts campaign that has been visible on Twitter over the past week.
Joe Ricketts, the 80-year-old head of the family who is apparently not involved in the bid, made Islamaphobic comments in emails sent over the past decade. In 2019, he described Muslim people as “his enemy”.
Ricketts was also a donor for the Republican Party during Donald Trump’s stint in the Whitehouse and had a book endorsed by the former US president.
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Tom Ricketts, who is fronting his family’s bid for the club, responded to CST’s statement on Friday by saying: “My family and I are very grateful to all the fans and supporters’ groups who took time to meet with us this week and share their passion and concerns for Chelsea Football Club. It’s clear you have nothing but the best interests of the club at heart.
“We have listened to all of your feedback – including from the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust – and are grateful that the door is still open for us to demonstrate our commitment to working with fans to protect the club’s heritage.
“It is now up to us to redouble our efforts and clearly lay out a vision for our stewardship of the club with diversity and inclusion at its heart.”
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