As per reports, Chelsea bidders will need to guarantee that they won’t be selling the club for at least a decade. Roman Abramovich’s 19-year old tenure with Stamford Bridge is to be wrapped up soon, as the club could be sold in a contract worth around €2.5 billion. The Raine Group will announce a preferred bidder for the Blues in the coming days. The Merchant bank is taking care of the auction.
Reportedly, the Raine Group have got in touch with their chosen bidders- Todd Boehly, Sir Martin Broughton, and Steve Pagliuca. They have been asked to commit that they won’t sell the clubs until 2032 at least. The 10-year demand thing is only applicable to the controlling parties in each consortium.
Chelsea Bidders Asked Not to Sell Club for the Next Years At least, to Buy Roman Abramovich
Any guarantee would be an addition to the sale deal, thus making the ten-year stay legally enforceable. Reports indicate the 10-year-long commitment is indicative of an attempt to ensure the stability at Stamford Bridge. Boston Celtics and NBA chief Larry Tanenbaum have initially made the commitment of “lifetime ownership”, with the Blues, in case their collaborated bid were to be successful.
Reportedly, last week Lewis and Serena Williams joined the race to buy Chelsea, each pledging about € 10 million to the Broughton led bid. Speculations are high and American candidate billionaire Boehly is looked upon as a central candidate to win the bidding. He owns an investment company Eldridge and is also the co-owner of the LA Dodgers.
Chelsea was put up for sale back on March 2. The news was confirmed by Abramovich through a statement on the club’s website.
It is going to be interesting to see what happens ultimately and who takes on the bid!
