(Football news) The UK government is expected to approve Todd Boehly-led consortium’s bid for the purchase of Chelsea Football Club in the next 24 hours. They have received legal guarantees that Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich will not be benefitting from the deal and the approval of the £4.25bn deal is imminent with the proceeds of the sale going into a frozen bank account controlled by the government. 

The takeover will end Roman Abramovich’s 19 year reign at Chelsea in which the club won 21 trophies including five Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies. Since Abramovich is also sanctioned by the European Union and holds a Portuguese passport, the sale will also need to be approved by the Portuguese authorities. The new owners, Todd Boehly and consortium member Hansjörg Wyss were present at Stamford Bridge when the Blues won 2-1 over Watford. 

Thomas Tuchel and the Chelsea management would be happy to hear that the takeover is imminent as the club currently cannot buy, sell or negotiate contracts with players due to the restrictions imposed by the UK government. Interestingly, Todd Boehly tried to buy Chelsea in 2019 as well, but his £2.2 billion offer was rejected by Abramovich. The consortium led by Boehly have already started working on plans for the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge. As part of the ownership, Boehly will share equal voting rights with Clearlake Capital, a Californian private equity firm who would own the majority shares. The group is being advised by Goldman Sachs and Robey Warshaw.

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