Chelsea sale gets green light from UK government
The British government announced Wednesday it had approved
Todd Boehly's £4.25 billion ($5.3 billion) purchase of Chelsea football club
from the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Nadine Dorries said she had issued a licence permitting the deal, hours after
it won approval from the Premier League on Tuesday evening.
"We are satisfied the proceeds of the sale will not
benefit Roman Abramovich or other sanctioned individuals," Dorries
tweeted.
"Given the sanctions we placed on those linked to
(Vladimir) Putin and the bloody invasion of Ukraine, the long-term future of
the club can only be secured under a new owner," she said.
A consortium led by Boehly, a co-owner of baseball's Los
Angeles Dodgers, had agreed a record deal to buy the club from Abramovich
earlier this month.
The Russian put Chelsea on the market in early March, just
before he was sanctioned by Britain following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Completion of the takeover has been a lengthy process due to
government concerns over the potential for Abramovich to profit from the sale.
Earlier this month, the deal seemed close to collapse over
concerns proceeds would not reach good causes as promised by the outgoing
owner.
The Russian, who bought Chelsea in 2003, denied he had asked
for his £1.5 billion loan to the club be repaid when the sale was concluded.
The total value of the deal smashes the previous record for
the sale of a sports team -- $2.4 billion for the New York Mets baseball
franchise in 2020.
Chelsea have been forced to operate under a special licence
since Abramovich was sanctioned.
The billionaire, also the target of European Union
sanctions, was described by the British government as part of President Putin's
inner circle.
The asset freeze imposed on Chelsea meant they could not
conduct any transfer business with either existing players or external targets.
The Blues will be now be able to return to business as usual
-- and there will be no time to lose in reconfiguring the playing squad.
Thomas Tuchel's side, who won the Champions League last
season, finished third in the Premier League - 19 points behind champions
Manchester City - and were beaten by Liverpool in the finals of the FA Cup and
League Cup.
The German manager is set to lose key defenders Antonio
Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Tuchel, in an interview on Chelsea's website conducted
before the sale was confirmed, said the club had been operating at a "huge
disadvantage" and would need to be nimble in the transfer market.
Reports on Wednesday said the former Paris Saint-Germain
boss would be handed a £200 million transfer kitty.
Chelsea have been transformed since Abramovich bought them
in 2003 for just £140 million at a time when Manchester United and Arsenal were
the dominant forces in the Premier League.
They evolved from a club on the brink of a financial crisis
into one of the richest in the Premier League thanks to the deep pockets of the
Russian, who routinely bankrolled blockbuster transfers.
He was rewarded with a staggering 19 major trophies in his
19-year reign - including five Premier League titles and two Champions League
triumphs.
Abramovich's arrival at Stamford Bridge also set a trend for
a wave of foreign investment in the Premier League.
Chelsea's 42,000-capacity Stamford Bridge home is in need of
major redevelopment to match the stadium size and income streams enjoyed by
their rivals.
But Boehly has a track record of delivering both stadium
improvement and sporting success with the Dodgers.
Thanks to heavy investment in players, the Dodgers have made
the MLB (Major League Baseball) playoffs every season for the past nine years
and won their first World Series for 32 years in 2020.
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