Chelsea takeover: Boehly consortium agree to buy Blues for £4.25bn

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 7 May 2022 08:19 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea have announced that the consortium led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly has been successful in its bid to buy the Premier League club.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the Blues released a statement indicating that terms of the purchase had been agreed, with the investment coming into the club totalling £4.25 billion.

The news is set to put to bed weeks of uncertainty, which had arisen when the assets of previous owner Roman Abramovich had been frozen due to his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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This had plunged the club into crisis, meaning that they could not perform simple tasks such as negotiate contracts with players and is one of the reasons that Antonio Rudiger is set to depart on a free transfer.

There was also speculation that they may go out of business if the sale was not agreed by early April, but Chelsea have indicated that the deal should be concluded by that point.

What did the Chelsea statement say?

Chelsea’s statement reads: “Chelsea Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the Club.

“Of the total investment being made, £2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100% to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich. UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.

“In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the Club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the Academy, the Women’s Team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation.

“The sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. More details will be provided at that time.”

What does this mean?

It should be business as normal for Chelsea once the sale of the club is completed, meaning that they will be able to renegotiate contract deals with players such as Reece James and Mason Mount, whose future at the club had been questioned due to the uncertainty over their position.

It also means that they should be able to conduct the summer transfer window as normal, giving Chelsea the opportunity to strengthen their squad – something that looked like it might be denied to them.