Chelsea has taken another step in the search for its new owner. This afternoon, up to five offers have been rejected by the Raine Group, the bank that manages the sale of the team, which tomorrow, Friday, March 25, will announce the three final candidates to buy it. But the two favorites to enter this “shortlist” are Todd Boehly and Sir Martin Broughton.
The Ricketts family, owner of the Chicago Cubs, is the other candidate to be part of the final selection, although it is behind. Above all, after the mobilization of the Chelsea fans, who have threatened to demonstrate in the street if the Ricketts end up being owners.
Accused of racism and of an extreme ideological position, the “No to the Ricketts” has been trending topic in Great Britain throughout the day. Despite this, they still have certain options to continue in the Raine Group process, which coincidentally signed an agreement with them in 2020 to create a company worth close to 300 million euros.
Regardless of the possible conflict of interest, it seems clear that two large consortiums will fight for the West London team. In the absence of official confirmation, the Swiss-American group formed by Todd Boehly, Hanjorg Wyss and Jonathan Goldstein would be the one with the best chance. Boehly also participated in the purchase of the LA Dodgers, also in baseball, and has experience in this type of operation.
The second group in discord is British and is that of Sir Martin Broughton, who was president of Liverpool and has an agreement with David Blizter and Joshua Harris, who are majority shareholders of Crystal Palace; and with the legendary athlete Lord Sebastian Coe. A new conflict of interest, in this case within the Premier League, which would be resolved if Blizter and Harris disposed of their Palace holdings.
The five millionaire offers that have already been rejected
At the expense of the final choice on the new owner, the Raine Group has already rejected five bids. Among them is the proposal of Saudi origin launched by Khalid al-Khudair, of the Saudi Media Group, which has been ruled out due to the difficulty in carrying out the sale in a short period of time.
He is not the only favorite that has fallen out of the selection process. Nick Candy, the Chelsea fan who made his fortune in British real estate, has also been left out. and that he had joined a group of South Korean investors, led by Camila Kim. Added to these are the discards of Aethel Partners, Mushyn Bayrak and Woody Johnson; that could still be integrated into the great proposals of Boehly, Broughton or the Ricketts.