News that Todd Boehly’s consortium had won its bid to buy Chelsea for £4.25billion is the beginning of the end of a long, convoluted process.
But it is not done yet. Yes, the agreement announced by the embattled club in the wee hours of Saturday morning is a significant step, yet Chelsea are not out of the water just yet.
Chelsea confirmed on their official website that Boehly and his consortium can purchase the club, following the UK Government’s approval.
Boehly saw off competition from consortiums fronted by Stephen Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton and even a late £4.25bn bid from Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
A total of £2.5billion will ‘be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 per cent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich’.
‘The other £1.75billion will be spent on ‘further investment for the benefit of the Club’, such as on Stamford Bridge, the academy, the Chelsea women’s team and the continued funding of the Chelsea foundation.’
Todd Boehly’s £4.25billion takeover is almost complete after the signing of the agreement
Boehly was pictured on Friday night outside Stamford Bridge hours before the announcement
So what happens now? Here, Sportsmail details the hurdles that still need to be cleared and the impact on Chelsea’s future.
What happens next?
The Premier League and the Government will have to approve the deal, and that is expected by the end of May and before the May 31 deadline.
Abramovich has said he would write off loans of more than £1.5billion to Chelsea and there had been fears he would renege on that promise, but he has insisted that will not be the case.
The Government now has to rewrite the special licence, which the club was placed under in the wake of the Abramovich sanctions, to make sure all this money ends up in frozen accounts and the charity account with which they are comfortable.
The Chelsea takeover saga has nearly ended with Abramovich completing the sale to Boehly
This is not a straightforward process and is likely to take days, possibly even weeks – with the potential for last-minute hitches.
But the Government is keen for the deal to go through so will be doing what they can to ensure it runs smoothly. Any intervention from them now would be unprecedented and would not be in the interests of Westminster chiefs or the club itself.
Then what?
After receiving the licence, the consortium will need to pass the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test before completing a takeover.
The Government (Prime Minister Boris Johnson pictured) are set to give the takeover the green light
The test outlines requirements that would prohibit an individual from becoming an owner or director of a club.
These include criminal convictions for a wide range of offences, a ban by a sporting or professional body, or breaches of certain football regulations such as match-fixing.
Again, there are not expected to be any problems here but this is the Premier League, after all.
And what about the sanctions?
The well-documented sanctions prevent Chelsea from doing business in the transfer market. As it stands the club is not allowed to sign or sell players, or negotiate any contracts.
That would all change if the sale goes through without any issues.
Chelsea’s sanctions reportedly curtailed any pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland
While new owners can talk to players regarding contracts and other issues, they can’t make any concrete offers or spend money until sanctions lifted and the sale is done.
However the purchase agreement signed by Boehly could provide the momentum for the necessary discussions to faciliate new deals and contract extensions.
How will the Boehly takeover affect the team?
The deal being completed will end the uncertainty surrounding the future of several of Chelsea’s players, such as Jorginho and N’Golo Kante, who are out of contract in 2023.
Chelsea will also be able to enter the market for new players, which will come as welcome relief to manager Thomas Tuchel and the club’s fans.
Thomas Tuchel’s side’s performances on the pitch have been impacted by off-the-pitch issues
It was recently reported that the sanctions prevented Chelsea from pursuing a deal for Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland, who is expected to join Manchester City.
Such eventualities will not be an issue once the takeover is done and dusted, much to the delight of Tuchel and the Chelsea faithful.
What if the deal were to hit an unlikely snag?
Chelsea and the Raine Group could turn to one of the previous bidders should any problems arise with Boehly’s offer.
Though this now seems highly unlikely, Broughton’s bid would be expected to be progressed first should Boehly hit any trouble. Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe appears further removed from the picture.
Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has missed out after making a late £4.25bn bid for club
Britain’s richest man tabled a last-ditch offer for the Blues last week, but did so outside of the official sale process. Raine rejected the bid out of hand, but despite that the 69-year-old had refused to admit defeat on his candidacy.
What happens if this is not resolved by the deadline?
The very future of the club would be in doubt. If they are not fully licensed by the time the Premier League holds its AGM on June 8, Chelsea risk expulsion from England’s top flight and European competitions.
The club would not have been eligible to re-enter the Premier League in that case, nor would they be put forward by the FA as Champions League or Europa League representatives.
The sale ensures this catastrophic outcome for Chelsea and their fans does not come to fruition.
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