The circle of prospective buyers for the top English soccer club FC Chelsea is constantly growing. On Wednesday, the owner of the American baseball team Chicago Cubs from the MLB threw his hat in the ring. A little later, a consortium including British athletics icon Lord Sebastian Coe followed.
“The Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, can confirm that they will spearhead an investment group that will make a formal offer for Chelsea Football Club on Friday,” it said in a statement.
Coe, President of the World Athletics Federation, announced a little later that he had joined the bid by British businessman Martin Broughton. Coe, who was the driving force behind London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics, said former Liverpool chief executive Broughton is the “right man” as he brings an “extraordinary” business record and experience to Anfield.
“But most importantly, like me, he’s a lifelong Chelsea fan and a Shed End season ticket holder,” said the 1980 and 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the 1500m. “We love our club and will always put the fans first set.”
A New York commercial bank had set the deadline for purchase offers for the Champions League winner, with team manager Thomas Tuchel and the German internationals Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Antonio Rüdiger, until Friday. The Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss had previously expressed his interest.
Former club owner Roman Abramovich announced a few days after Russia’s attack on Ukraine that he wanted to sell Chelsea. The British government imposed sanctions on the Russian oligarch last week.