Which American Tycoon Could Own Chelsea?
Boehly's interest in the football club is not something that just suddenly arose. In 2019, Boehly attempted to buy the team. However, Boehly's offer came nowhere close to the three billion pounds ($3.968 billion) Abramovich was asking for. Now, with Abramovich's urgency to sell, Boehly has leverage. Boehly and Wyss combined net worth of $12.7 billion ($6.2 billion and $6.5 billion) make the duo the prime candidate for ownership.
Since the initial announcement, the duo has been looking to expand their team. They were recently joining by London-based property investor, Jonathan Goldstein. The question becomes will this team be enough to take out other competition. The Ricketts family, the owners of the Chicago Cubs, and business tycoon Ken Griffin (left) are the latest group to enter the playing field.
Whoever the owner becomes, the decision needs to be made soon. Players, including Anotonio Rudger and Cesar Azpilecueta, have contracts that are set to expire this summer. With Abramovich's assets frozen and the club banned from selling match tickets, Chelsea must look for new ways to retain their key stars. And they must look fast!
I find this article especially interesting given its relevancy to the sports world, but also in the department of what has been occurring in international politics as well. Given the pressure that the western world has put on Putin and his business constituents, it will be interesting to see how other corrupt figures who have a footing in European football react as well. Furthermore, it has been relatively rare for American businessmen to have complete ownership over clubs--only about 7 are part-time owned. To see this shift is interesting given the implications of the shift of ownership out of Abramovich's hands.
ReplyDeleteThat all look like a possibility above, however I read a soccer page on Instagram and I saw that a wealthy arab businessman offered 2.7 billion dollars to the team. Right now, all their accounts are frozen because Abramovich can't earn money. They can't even pay for their gas to reach the stadiums in England. Personally, the club will sell to a person that is ready to buy and not an american, but Vivek Ranadivé and woody johnson have potential in buying the team
ReplyDeleteThis article was very well written and very intriguing. Usually British fans do not like outside investors, for example a investor that is not British, but recently they have started to change their stance. They are now more open to American investors ad other billionaires that are not from the middle east or Russia because both those regions bring a lot of controversy to the club.
ReplyDeleteI am familiar with this situation because I am a Chicago Cubs fan and know that Tom Ricketts is going for Chelsea as well. Personally, I would like to see how the Ricketts family would treat a club like Chelsea comparatively to the baseball team they currently own in the Cubs. European football holds a very different culture than American baseball does, and it was already pretty easy for them to maintain the baseball culture when owning the Cubs because of the authenticity of Wrigley Field. It would be interesting to see if the Ricketts could adapt to the new culture and if that would change their involvement of the Cubs organization as well.
ReplyDeleteAs Chelsea is one of the most well known clubs in the entire world it will be interesting to see which bid is accepted. After going to a game it was apparent the Chelsea fans did truly like Abramovich as an owner. I think the new owner has very big shoes to fill and it will be a tough task.
ReplyDeleteRight now it looks as if Chelsea will not be able to be sold anytime soon but when they do, there will be some very high bids. It would be very interesting to see if Boehy were to become the owner of this club. I am not sure if there are big American owners in the EPL but I would like to see how it would work out.
ReplyDeleteThis situation in Chelsea is very unique. The 3.9 billion price tag is quite expensive. Right now there are several investors that are very interested in one of Europe's top clubs. It would be cool if an American owner like the Ricketts family if they could obtain the club. This will be a difficult sale however which such a big price tag associated with it. I wonder if the Rickett family or another new owner can continue the recent success of Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteWhile many of my classmates have acknowledged the strangeness and unprecedented nature of the Chelsea takeover situation. The fact is that Chelsea has grown to one of the biggest football club and sports brands in the world (especially and importantly in the US). This fact warrants this high price tag, despite the geopolitical issues. If this issue can handled smoothly (or as smoothly as possible) with American ownership in some form, it is sure to push the team into the future. If this dicey transition period continues to loom, then this could spell trouble for the blues.
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