Chelsea takeover gets Premier League green light and awaits approval from UK and Portuguese governments, plus EU
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Updated 24/05/2022 at 18:27 GMT
The Todd Boehly-led consortium took a step closer to becoming the new owners of Chelsea after passing the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test. Now the club await the green light from the UK Government and the EU, with the Portuguese government also required to approve the sale given current owner Roman Abramovich holds a passport there.
Todd Boehly
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The Premier League has approved Todd Boehly’s proposed takeover of Chelsea with the green light now needed from the UK Government for the sale to be completed.
The government is said to be satisfied that current owner Roman Abramovich will not take home any of the £4.25bn sale of Chelsea.
Reports suggest there could even be further progression on Tuesday evening, with the Boehly-led consortium requiring approval from the EU and Portuguese government as well.
Abramovich obtained his EU citizenship through Portugal, where he holds a passport, and it would appear his 19-year reign of Chelsea is set to end imminently.
The Russian was looking to sell the club after he was hit with sanctions by the UK and EU amid the invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea slowly whittled down the prospective buyers, but Boehly and his group soon emerged as the frontrunners.
“The Premier League Board has today approved the proposed takeover of Chelsea Football Club by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Consortium,” the Premier League’s statement read on Tuesday.
“The purchase remains subject to the Government issuing the required sale licence and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction.
“The Board has applied the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT) to all prospective Directors, and undertaken the necessary due diligence.
“The members of the Consortium purchasing the club are affiliates of the Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter.
“Chelsea FC will now work with the relevant Governments to secure the necessary licences to complete the takeover.”
Boehly has been pictured in London in recent weeks, attending matches at Stamford Bridge and visiting the club’s Cobham training ground in Surrey.
The American, who is co-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team, was joined by fellow consortium member Hansjorg Wyss as the Chelsea men’s team won their final Premier League game of the season at home to Watford on Sunday.
A major summer awaits the club, and though Antonio Rudiger is among the players set to leave, there will be significant intrigue around how much is given towards transfers.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel is unlikely to lose his role, while Boehly must also decide whether chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia keep their jobs.
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