LONDON (AP) — Chelsea will be sold to a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, ending 19 years of ownership and lavish investment by Roman Abramovich until the Russian oligarch was sanctioned and forced to offload the Premier League club.
The sale price of 2.5 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) for the reigning FIFA Club World Cup winners and 2021 European champions is the most lucrative-ever for a sports team worldwide but Abramovich cannot receive the proceeds, which he hopes will go to a foundation for the victims of the war. A further 1.75 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) has been committed to invest in Chelsea’s teams and stadiums after two months of rapid negotiations to sell the west London.
After several rival bids were rejected, Chelsea said Saturday that buyout terms had been agreed with a consortium that features Boehly along with Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and funding from private equity firm Clearlake Capital.
The Premier League must approve them as the new ownership and the government has to sign off under the terms of the license that allows Chelsea to continue operating as a business through May 31 while being one of Abramovich’s frozen assets.
Abramovich has said he would write off loans of more than 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) to Chelsea but that has been complicated by the sanctions put in place by the British government. Abramovich’s side positioned him as a potential peacemaker but that trail has gone silent publicly in recent weeks and the billionaire has not condemned the war.
Chelsea, whose ability to sell match tickets and commit to new player spending has been hampered by the sanctions, expects the sale to be completed by late May.
“Proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100% to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich,” Chelsea said in a statement.
Boehly is already in London and was expected to attend Chelsea’s Premier League match against Wolverhampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Thomas Tuchel’s team is third in the standings with four games remaining. The title is out of reach but Champions League qualification is nearly secured.