Businessman Roman Abramovich refused to sell Chelsea to investors from China and Saudi Arabia because of political problems.
Abramovich, who is being pressured for sanctions in England because of rumors of his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, intends to sell the club from the English capital he has controlled since 2003.
The billionaire steel mill owner, a reliable source told Reuters, would not let Chelsea go to China and Saudi Arabia because of resistance in England if the Blues’ new ruler came from these two countries.
Because of this, Abramovich reportedly asked Joe Ravitch to buy Chelsea. Ravitch is a co-founder of investment bank Raine Group LLC.
“We will not rush. It is very important that Chelsea have the right owners to guide the club going forward,” Ravitch said in an exclusive interview with Reuters on Friday (4/3).
To expedite the process of selling the club’s shares, the Russian tycoon formed a foundation.
The foundation will receive profits from the sale of the club’s shares, which will later be distributed to victims of the war in Ukraine.
It is estimated that Abramovich’s profit will be about $4 billion or 3 billion pounds. The sale process is believed to be completed over the next month.
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Since Abramovich wanted to sell the club’s stake, a number of bids have come in. Some of these are bids of £2.5 billion. In 2003 Abramovich bought Chelsea for 140 million pounds.
Todd Boehly, a businessman from the United States who owns the LA Dodgers baseball team and the LA Lakers basketball team, is said to have made an offer. Boehly collaborated with Swiss entrepreneur Hansjorg Wyss.
[Gambas:Video CNN]
(nva/nva)
