Image Source: (Politico)
Eli Richardson
March 21, 2022
Chelsea FC, located in London, will change ownership soon. This comes on the heels of the United Kingdom placing economic sanctions on current Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. Abramovich is a Russian billionaire who has gained notoriety since his purchase of Chelsea in 2003, due to the club's meteoric rise to Premier League (2004, 2005, 2009, 2014, 2016) and Champions League (2012, 2021) glory. These sanctions come from the United Kingdom due to Abramovich's ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the current global situation.
The economic sanctions that were placed froze Abramovich's U.K.-based assets. This means that Chelsea FC cannot do business or earn money, this means things like no more ticket sales or merchandise sales from the team's store. In order for Chelsea to be sold the U.K. government will need to authorize a special license that approves the source and use of the funds.
Although the sale will be complicated and the U.K. government will be heavily involved there are around 20 perspective buyers. Some notable prospective buyers include the Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs, as well as Todd Boehly, who is a partial owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The bids that are being put in are thought to be somewhere between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion
Chelsea is currently in a difficult position as the club's economic activities are limited. Hopefully, with some cooperation and some willing investors, Chelsea will be able to move on and try to maintain the success it had with Roman Abramovich as its owner.
Source: ("A Long Queue Forms to Buy London’s Most Famous Russian Asset: Chelsea FC" by Joshua Robinson, Ben Dummett, and Max Colchester)