Following the lead of the Premier League, the British government has also given the green light for the acquisition of Chelsea by the consortium of American Todd Boehly. Nothing seems to stand in the way of a sale of the English top club.
Initially, the government feared that Roman Abramovich, the current Chelsea owner, would benefit financially from the sale. However, it has now been ensured that the money will go to a good cause.
The wealthy Russian, who himself denied that he wanted money, was forced to put Chelsea up for sale at the beginning of this year. His assets were frozen by the British government because of the war in Ukraine.
“After much work, we are convinced that the proceeds of the sale will not go to Roman Abramovich or any other punished person. We will ensure that the proceeds benefit the victims in Ukraine,” a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
The acquisition of Chelsea by Boehly, who is also co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club, involves an amount of 2.5 billion pounds (almost 3 billion euros). The American consortium also plans to invest another nearly 2 billion euros in the club.
Now that Chelsea’s takeover has been approved by the government, the club no longer seems to have to worry about losing the Premier League license, which expires at the end of this month.