Chelsea confident of naming new owner by Monday

According to CBS’s Ben Jacobs, Raine Group and Chelsea are “confident of selecting Chelsea’s preferred bidder by Monday at the latest”.

The sale process, led by the New York bank Raine Group, reached its final stage this week when the last meetings were held with the three interested groups.

The consortiums led by Todd Boehly (owner of the LA Dodgers), Sir Martin Broughton (former Liverpool chairman) and Stephen Pagliuca (owner of Atalanta and the Boston Celtics) have had the opportunity to present their plans for the renovation of Stamford Bridge, one of the conditions for buying Chelsea.

Boehly and Broughton have the edge over Pagliuca, however, Pagliuca has big plans for Chelsea, not only for the stadium but also in terms of off-field revenue generation.

Chelsea interest

There has been no shortage of interest in the Premier League club, coming mostly from North America, but also from the UK and various parts of Asia. The final price of the transaction could be as high as £3.5-4 billion, according to Sky News. It will be the biggest deal ever achieved by a sports franchise.

Roman Abramovich reportedly asked all three finalists to increase their bids by an additional £500 million last week. While it’s not quite clear why exactly that request was made, all three groups were “minded to agree” to it, as it’s set to be part of the charitable donation that will be made from the proceeds of the sale.

The majority of the fee will go to the victims of the war in Ukraine. Chelsea have begun the consultation process for setting up the necessary charity, with the government “understood to be aware” of that process starting.

There is also “£1-1.5b going to Chelsea in the form of investment in its stadium, academy, and women’s team”.