Chelsea FC Sale In Doubt
The sale of Premier League club Chelsea FC has been thrown into doubt due to reports that owner Roman Abramovich is going back on a promise to write off his £1.6bn loan to the club.
Abramovich pledged to wipe out his loan to Chelsea when he put the Stamford Bridge club up for sale on 2nd March, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The terms of those sanctions have left Chelsea’s parent company Fordstam Limited frozen, with the Blues operating under a special Government licence. Now, Abramovich looks set to fight to have the loan repaid.
The Russian-Israeli billionaire is understood to believe that the UK Government sanctions against him will block his plans to write off Chelsea’s debt, and he is expecting the loan to the club to be frozen when the sale is completed. There are suggestions that this last-minute U-turn could be a bargaining ploy from Abramovich.
The long-term Chelsea owner had vowed to create a new charitable foundation and donate all the proceeds of Chelsea’s sale to aid victims of the war in Ukraine when initially putting the Blues up for sale. The Government is likely to divert the sale proceeds to charitable causes, but Downing Street could yet also freeze those funds.
There have been warnings that Chelsea could be prevented from playing in the Premier League and in Europe next season if they are not under new ownership before their licence expires, with Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, saying last week that the European champions were on “borrowed time“. The Premier League are meeting on 8th June to constitute the new season, by which time Chelsea would need to have a licence to be part of the next campaign.
There is a time pressure on the deal due to the special license expiring on 31st May. It is understood that some in government could be open to Abramovich’s request if there were guarantees the repayment of the loan would not go to a sanctioned entity.
The consortium led by US businessman Todd Boehly is thought to be the preferred bidder to buy Chelsea, a decision that is being led by the Raine Group. The bid is already being scrutinised by the Premier League to see if it passes their owners and director’s test.
The Boehly investment group has already presented extensive plans for the club to the US merchant bank and given guarantees they will not sell the club for at least a decade. They have also given assurances they will invest at least £1bn in the club and infrastructure, including a redevelopment Stamford Bridge.
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