The Premier League board has approved the acquisition of Chelsea by the consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly. In addition to the co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the consortium also includes investment company Clearlake Capital, Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss and British real estate developer Jonathan Goldstein.
“The acquisition still requires a special sales license from the government and a satisfactory completion of the final parts of the transaction,” the Premier League said. The consortium pays 4.25 billion pounds (almost 5 billion euros) for the football club.
Chelsea was put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich in March after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russian is on a British government sanctions list because he is said to have close ties to President Vladimir Putin. Chelsea therefore has to deal with all kinds of restrictions.
Approval
Government approval must be received before the current license expires on May 31. The British government plans to grant approval after Abramovich assured he will not make any money from the deal. The Russian owner denied the stories that he wanted a loan of 1.5 billion pounds (1.75 billion euros) to the club.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Tuesday that the government is currently working with the club on the acquisition process. “We are holding in-depth discussions with the relevant international partners to get the necessary approvals,” he said.