Boehly Reportedly Frontrunner As Chelsea Deadline Arrives

The deadline for Chelsea FC bidders to submit their final offers has arrived — and Todd Boehly’s group is thought to be the frontrunner, according to the BBC. 

If Boehly wins, he would beat out a consortium led by Sir Martin Broughton, the Ricketts Family Investment Group, and Stephen Pagliuca’s group. The four bidders reportedly agreed to make all-cash offers and will “not load debt onto the club.”

Boehly, who is an owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks as well as Cloud9 and DraftKings, is estimated to be worth $4.5 billion as of Thursday — the 661st-richest person in the world.

The club is estimated to be worth $2.4 billion.

Deadline Decision

With recommendations from the Raine Group, current owner Roman Abramovich will make the final decision with the team’s board. The sale could fetch as much $3.61 billion, but it will not necessarily go to the highest bidder — Sports Business Journal reported that “the future guardianship of the club” will be prioritized.

Following Thursday’s reported 5 p.m. ET deadline, the winner is expected to be confirmed next week with approval from the U.K. government, which recently sanctioned Abramovich for his ties to Vladimir Putin. 

• On Thursday, Chelsea’s director Eugene Tenenbaum was also sanctioned. 
• Last month, Reuters reported that Abramovich handed Tenenbaum control of the club on the day of the Ukraine invasion. 

Abramovich will not be able to make money off the sale despite purchasing the team for roughly $233 million in 2003.