There are only four final bidders remaining in the race to take over at Chelsea but the club has put forth a new investment condition. According to Sky News, the four investors are required to add £1billion to their valuation for their investment in the players and the manager. Chelsea wants to assure that the new owners can help them sustain in the later stages too.
Roman Abramovich has faced sanctions from the UK government following his connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian oligarch has put his club up for sale for the first time in these difficult conditions. He now has to select a proper successor to help the club move forward and also help them sustain and compete at the highest level.
Chelsea saw many investors and bidders interested to buy their club. However, they recently rejected a bid from Saudi Media Group. There are now only four remaining bidders who are the Ricketts Family (owners of the Chicago cubs), Todd Boehly (LA Dodgers co-owner), Sir Martin Broughton (former Liverpool chairman), and Stephen Pagliuca (Atalanta and Boston Celtics co-owner).
They have to make sure that the new owners can help them even after the takeover. The Blues will need recruitments season by season to stay at the top level. Previous owner Roman Abramovich had also invested more than £1billion into the club. This takeover will help Chelsea in their basic expenses for now but will the new owners help Chelsea in the long term is something that we have to find out with time.
Why does Chelsea want £1billion additional investment into the club?
Roman Abramovich was one of the best football club owners in the past two decades. Chelsea has enjoyed their best time in history since Abramovich has taken over. He always supported the club financially whenever required. This helped Chelsea to go on a buying streak quite a few times under his reign. This is why Chelsea are where they are now as last year’s Champions League winners.
The Russian billionaire had also invested a bit more than £1billion in the 19 years he was at the club. Chelsea expects the same from their new owners to maintain the standards of their club. The club has to sort out several contract agreements while also signing new players. Chelsea will definitely need some funding to help them with those contracts of key players.
The current players will demand new contracts with improved salaries and the club will also need to make a few signings to improve the squad quality. Luckily the owner will have some help from Chelsea’s loanees and will receive some funding from that end. However, Chelsea has to be careful in selecting their new owners as some owners are mostly focused on the commercial part of the game.
It is good that Chelsea have thought of this additional investment before actually selecting their owner. The second round of bids could have a deadline set a few days before Chelsea faces Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. Moreover, the takeover could be completed by the end of April and Chelsea will have some time to think about their future with their new owners.
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