The
9pm bid deadline for the sale of Chelsea has passed, with the Ricketts
family confirming they have submitted an offer for the Premier League club.
The sale has come amid UK and EU sanctions on Roman Abramovich following
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Chelsea also under a number of
restrictions.
The club - including women and youth teams - cannot sell tickets to games or
sell merchandise and are restricted on how much they can spend on any given
game day.
It is a unique situation for many reasons, but especially that a club like
Chelsea does not become available on the open market very often, if ever.
They are one of the biggest clubs in the world - the world and European
champions - so there is a lot of interest.
The Ricketts family - owners of the Chicago Cubs and one of the biggest
names linked with a big - confirmed on Friday evening that they had sent in
an offer.
An official statement from the family said: "The Ricketts Family, owners of
the Chicago Cubs, can confirm they will be leading an investment group that
will make a formal bid for Chelsea Football Club this Friday (March 18).
"As long-time operators of an iconic professional sports team, the Ricketts
Family and their partners understand the importance of investing for success
on the pitch, while respecting the traditions of the club, the fans and the
community.
"We look forward to sharing further details of our plans in due course."
Significantly, they are backed by Ken Griffin, who is a hedge fund
billionaire and Sky Sports News has been told he is almost three times as
rich as Abramovich. He is also the single richest individual that is
reportedly interested in buying Chelsea.
Who else has been linked with a potential
bid?
There have been other confirmations of bids for Chelsea alongside the
Ricketts family, with Aethel Partners putting in a bid worth more than
£2billion for Chelsea on Thursday.
An investment company based in Berkeley Square in London, it is willing to
provide Chelsea with an immediate £50m to deal with any short-term financing
the club may need.
Sports media organisation Catalina & Partners Group also announced on Friday
that they are planning a bid for Chelsea, with backing from South Korea.
The organisation's headquarters are based on the same Fulham Road which
Stamford Bridge stadium is based on, with just a mile separating the two
bases.
"We are preparing our bid," said C&P Sports Group chief executive Catalina
Kim. "There has never been investment into a top tier football club made by
South Korean capital before. It is time for a change."
Other names linked with a potential bid include former chairman of British
Airways and Liverpool Sir Martin Broughton, and luxury property developer
Nick Candy.
There is also a potential other bid from the US, from part-owner of the LA
Dodgers Todd Boehly who has teamed up with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss
and they are backed by Jonathan Goldstein.
Times columnist and former Conservative government adviser Daniel
Finkelstein has joined the trio.
American investment firm Clearlake Capital have joined the same consortium,
report Sky News, though the consortium's bid is now overfunded.
Bloomberg are reporting that Barbara Charone has also joined the same
consortium. She is a Chelsea fan who set up the music PR company MBC PR.
Madonna, Foo Fighters, Rod Stewart and Maroon 5 are some of their artists.
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