Bidders for Chelsea will reportedly have to guarantee that they won’t sell the club for at least a decade.
The 19-year tenure of Roman Abramovich at Stamford Bridge is coming to an end with the club to be sold in a deal worth around £2.5billion.
A preferred bidder for the Blues is set to be announced by Raine Group, the merchant bank handling the auction, in the coming days.
Sky News have reported that Raine have contacted the three shortlisted bidders – Todd Boehly, Sir Martin Broughton and Steve Pagliuca – asking them to provide commitments that they won’t sell the club until 2032 at the earliest.
It’s said that the bidding groups have been told the 10-year demand would only apply to the controlling parties in each consortium.
Whoever replaces Abramovich would also be able to raise money by issuing additional shares to provide additional funding for the club.
Raine Group are expected to name a preferred bidder for Chelsea in the coming days
Those looking to buy out Roman Abramovich have been told by Raine Group that they must commit themselves to Chelsea and not sell the Blues for at least a decade
Any guarantee would be included in the sale contract, making the ten-year stay legally enforceable.
The report states that the decade-long commitment ‘reflects an attempt to ensure stability and continuity at Stamford Bridge’.
Boston Celtics owner Pagliuca and NBA chief Larry Tanenbaum have previously committed to ‘lifetime ownership’ of the Blues if their joint bid were to be successful.
Pagliuca, who also owns a stake in Serie A side Atalanta, said: ‘Larry and I have known each other for over 20 years and we are committed to this being a lifetime ownership. It is a long-term commitment that both families want to make.’
Boston Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca said he would commit to a ‘lifetime ownership’ of the club
Sir Martin Broughton’s bid has received backing from Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams
The bid led by Broughton, the former British Airways and Liverpool chairman, would involve Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment – owner of a stake in Crystal Palace and a number of US sports teams.
Last week it was reported that Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams joined the battle to buy Chelsea, each pledging about £10million to the Broughton fronted bid.
Meanwhile, American billionaire Boehly is considered to be a prime candidate to take over at Chelsea.
He is the owner of Eldridge, an investment company, and also the co-owner of the LA Dodgers.
Boehly is the part owner of WNBA team the Los Angeles Sparks, and saw a £2.2bn bid to buy Chelsea rejected by Abramovich in 2019. He is keen to expand his sports portfolio, and recently withdrew from talks to buy football team Washington Spirit.
American billionaire Todd Boehly is the third candidate to take Chelsea over from Abramovich
He is also backed by big finances. Clearlake Capital are involved in the bid, and hold £45bn in assets. Swiss billionaire Hasnjorg Wyss, worth £3.9bn, has also featured prominently. Jonathan Goldstein, meanwhile, has £7.7bn in assets.
All three bidders are understood to have indicated that they would pay well over £2bn to buy the club, with a minimum further investment of £1bn committed to its stadium, academy and women’s team.
Chelsea were put up for sale on March 2, with owner Abramovich confirming the news in a statement on the club’s website.
Abramovich was subsequently sanctioned by the UK and EU as they reacted to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
There are understood to be no issues on any of the bids from Downing Street, who would be willing to hand over the reins to any of the parties tussling for control at Stamford Bridge.
A deal will only go through once the government issues a licence approving the sale, following the Russian’s sanctioning.
Sanctions against the club have meant that fans have been unable to buy tickets for recent games against Arsenal and West Ham with only season-ticket holders able to attend
Thomas Tuchel says the club’s hands were ‘tied’ over Antonio Rudiger who has decided to leave the club at the end of the season with a move to Real Madrid potentially on the table
All three of the bidders are expected to be approved under the Premier League’s Owners and Directors’ Test before a recommendation is made.
It is expected once the future owners have been put forward to the government and the Premier League the most expensive sale of a sports team in history will be hurried through.
The sanctions against the club have impacted other areas of Chelsea’s operation.
Fans are currently unable to buy tickets with just season-ticket holders able to visit games which has impacted their attendances in recent games against Arsenal and West Ham.
It has also impacted contract negotiations, with manager Thomas Tuchel stating that the sanctions left the club with their ‘hands tied,’ after defender Antonio Rudiger confirmed to him that he would be leaving at the end of the season.