(Sports news) Seven time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton and 23 time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams have joined a large consortium to purchase Chelsea FC from Roman Abramovich. The consortium is led by Sir Martin Broughton and it also includes World Athletics President Sebastian Coe as well as Josh Harris and David Blitzer, owners of the NBA team Philadelphia 76ers. Hamilton’s communications consultancy Freud Communications have already confirmed the British racing driver's involvement in the bid while Serena Williams’ representatives are yet to make a public statement.

Speaking to CNN Sport, Ben Peppi, sports commercial expert at JMW Solicitors said “It's a move away from what they're investing in traditionally, [by] investing in a club's franchise, especially a club the size of Chelsea. [Sportspeople are] typically seen as investing in consumer brands, early stage businesses that clearly have relevance to their sporting career, but also kind of that move into the wider business world. 

“This, to me, looks more like a traditional investment play. Clearly, it's a financial return. It's not going to be acting as brand ambassadors for Chelsea Football Club in a traditional way that they might with other consumer brands. With Lewis Hamilton there's a lot of talk around the fact that he's in there because he's going to promote values close to him with regards to kind of race, inclusion, and diversity” Peppi concluded. 

Hamilton said “We were contacted and Sir Martin took time to speak to me on the phone and explain his and his team’s goals, if they were to win the bid, which was incredibly exciting. And it was very much aligned with my values and again, as a kid, I remember collecting all the stickers and books to trade cards. I remember filling all of those up as a kid and collecting all those pennies and trading them for sweets with the other kids for the most valuable ones. 

“Ultimately I’m a sporting fan. It’s the biggest sport in the world and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world and one of the most successful. When I heard about this opportunity I was like ‘wow’, this is one of the greatest opportunities to be part of something so great. Well, at the moment my primary focus is continuing in Formula 1, and this isn't my first business venture or investment. But yeah, it’s something I'm excited about, I would say early on I’m for sure not going to be able to be hands on as the other people that are a part of it. But again, we haven't won (the bid) yet. But if we do, there's lots of opportunity to get involved more and more over time, which is super exciting." 

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