Chelsea

Three bids for Chelsea confirmed as deadline passes

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 18 March 2022

Nick Candy, the Ricketts Family and a consortium led by Sebastian Coe and Martin Broughton are among those to submit bids for Chelsea as Friday's deadline passes.

At least three parties are confirmed to have submitted bids to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich following Friday's deadline.

Potential buyers had until 9PM on Friday to make offers to take over from Abramovich, who is relinquishing control of the club following sanctions imposed on both him and the European champions.

Chelsea cannot conduct transfer business or offer players new contracts while the sanctions are in place, leading to Abramovich seeking to conduct a quickfire sale of the club.

Now, a consortium led by property developer Nick Candy, the Ricketts family and a consortium led by Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe are all confirmed to have made offers after the window to table bids closed.

A statement from Candy's consortium read: "Mr Candy believes the proposed offer provides the ability to transfer stewardship of Chelsea seamlessly and efficiently, at an attractive valuation, to a committed and credible group with considerable global resources to continue the development of the club which has been so successful since 2003."

The Ricketts Family - who own the Chicago Cubs baseball team and have been backed by Ken Griffin - said: "The Ricketts Family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, can confirm they will be leading an investment group that will make a formal bid for Chelsea Football Club this Friday (March 18).

"As long-time operators of an iconic professional sports team, the Ricketts Family and their partners understand the importance of investing for success on the pitch, while respecting the traditions of the club, the fans and the community."

A consortium led by Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss are also rumoured to have made an official bid, while various other suitors such as Woody Johnson are thought to be in the running.