Hysteria reigns Great Britain led mostly by the the situation in Ukraine – but also by the pressure directed against Roman Abramovich. It all resulted in Chelsea FC being on the market in the shocking turn of events, although only a few days ago information came from well-informed sources that the Russian oligarch would not go in that direction.Everything turned around in less than two days, Abramovich said in another short statement via the official club media that he was selling Chelsea, hoping that he would “be able to come to the stadium to say goodbye to everyone in person for one last time”.Also, he wanted to annunciate that Chelsea is more than a business to him which can be seen in the (for many) crazy move of writing off the debt the club has to him (he loaned almost 2 billion USD to Chelsea). With the promise that all net proceeds from the sale will go to victims of the war in Ukraine, Abramovich has also shown that he is ready to distance himself from Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has been close friends for years.Tuchel: “It’s a massive change of course”Abramovich has already made some moves in that direction already – he responded to the invitation of prominent people from Ukraine to participate in peace negotiations, while in England he suffers fierce pressure from the public and especially from the British Parliament – which advocates that all his property and assets in the country be confiscated.There has been speculation for days about who could be the new owner of Chelsea, even at a time when the Russian billionaire has not yet officially made a decision to sell. Now that everything is out in the open, there is a growing list of potential buyers for the only champion of Europe coming from London.Fans would probably be most pleased with the first name on the list – Sir Jim Ratcliffe. He is a declared Chelsea fan, a season ticket holder who is often a guest of the Stamford Bridge VIP lodge and has never hidden his love for the club. Although he was born in Manchester, his residence is in Chelsea, a wealthy part of West London.Christensen agreed terms with Barca, Azpilicueta given more time to decideHis name is not unknown across UK football. The petrochemical billionaire, whose net value is estimated at around 16.6 billion USD, has already been linked to the potential purchase of his beloved club almost three years ago. At that time, Abramovich asked for over three billion euros, and Ratcliffe thought that it was too much, although the Russian was not overly interested in selling his favorite toy. That is why Ratcliffe, the owner of the Swiss club Lausanne since 2017, turned to other projects and invested his money in the purchase of French side Nice.”We were in the early stages of negotiations, but there was a significant difference in valuation,” Ratcliffe said in 2019.In the meantime, this billionaire was associated with Newcastle and Leeds, even Manchester United, but his ambitions after the collapse in negotiations with Abramovich did not reach the Premier League heights. Until now.Chelsea could sign a star winger but also lose their ownerThe story about the purchase of Chelsea also involved the Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, “worth” close to 6 billion USD. He publicly revealed that he received an offer from Abramovich to buy Chelsea for the mentioned three billion pounds, but that he decided to take a few days to think about everything. The reason is the mentioned debts of Chelsea, which Roman Abramovich wrote off in the meantime.Wyss would not enter the business alone, but would be part of the consortium that includes the American tycoon Todd Boehly. The co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club and one of the shareholders in one of the biggest NBA franchises, the LA Lakers, was also linked to Chelsea in 2019, but then Abramovich rejected two of his offers.Sat 18:00: (7.50) Burnley (4.10) Chelsea (1.48)It is now speculated that he is the closest to taking over the ownership of the club. Boehly is known as a great sports fan, his company Eldridge Industries is engaged in investments in various industries, including sports. Boehly’s net worth is estimated at close to six billion USD. Also, the fact that Roman Abramovich hired the American bank Raine Group to complete the sale of Chelsea suggests that Todd Boehly is the most probable buyer.In the end, even the name of Conor McGregor, a famous UFC fighter, is mentioned. He announced on social media that he is ready to try his luck with the purchase of Chelsea, although it is believed that he was actually joking. Even if he is not, he would not be able to enter the business alone, because his net value is only slightly higher than 166 million USD. So, some powerful people with deep pockets would have to stand next to him in this potential outcome. He is a big fan of Manchester United and he tried to enter the club before, but it never went anywhere further than messages on social media…🚨 Roman Abramovich has set a deadline of Friday for interested buyers to make ‘indicative offers’ for Chelsea.He wants to sell the club and he wants to sell it quickly.(Source: @RorySmith) pic.twitter.com/ft5RXBtabO— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) March 2, 2022 Abramovich has reportedly already told his closest associates that he will not do anything related to this sale rashly, but that he will wait a few days to choose the best offer and, above all, hand Chelsea over to the right person. Or people. But, considering how much news is coming out on the topic of selling the two-time European champion, everything should be taken with a pinch of salt. It was even mentioned in public that Abramovich could put an end to almost two decades of rule over the London club on Friday already.
