‘We won!’: Chelsea fans rejoice and say ‘good riddance’ after the Ricketts family withdraw their £3bn takeover bid – following supporters’ passionate protests over Joe Ricketts’ past racist comments
- Consortium led by the Ricketts family has withdrawn from race to buy Chelsea
- The Chicago Cubs owners and their partners pulled out of £3bn race on Friday
- US billionaires Ken Griffin and Dan Gilbert had joined the family to make offer
- But they have pulled out, citing the ‘unusual dynamics of the sales process’
- It leaves just three consortiums in the running to buy the Stamford Bridge club
- Following the announcement, fans took to Twitter to voice their happiness
Chelsea fans have expressed their delight following the news the Ricketts-led consortium has withdrawn its bid to buy the club.
The Chicago Cubs owners along with their partners opted not to submit a final bid for the Stamford Bridge side, with the consortium members understood to be unable to agree the final composition of their offer.
Cubs owners Tom and Laura Ricketts had partnered with US billionaires Ken Griffin and Dan Gilbert on a cash-only bid to buy the Blues.
The Ricketts family have ruled themselves out of taking over Chelsea from Roman Abramovich
Chelsea fans have continually protested against the Chicago Cub owners taking over the club
Final bids were due to be submitted to New York merchant bank the Raine Group on Thursday, but the Ricketts-led group has now withdrawn its candidacy.
Fans were quick to respond to the news, and took to Twitter to express their delight.
One fan simply wrote ‘good riddance’ once the news broke regarding the family on Friday
Another believed the protests and fan backlash played a pivotal role in their withdrawal
Further Chelsea supporters expressed their delight on Twitter once the news was announced
One fan said it was ‘the nest news ever’ that the family would not be taking over Chelsea
Whilst further supporters believed ‘fan favourite’ played a role in their pull out on Friday
Another supporter expressed his delight the family will not be replacing Roman Abramovich
Another mocked up an image of boss Thomas Tuchel holding up a banner with ‘no to Ricketts’
The Ricketts’ bid for Chelsea had come under fire from Blues supporters, over family patriarch Joe Ricketts’ historic emails from 2009.
Supporters had staged a small demonstration at Stamford Bridge, with the Ricketts family working hard to prove an inclusive and diverse bid to buy the club.
‘The Ricketts-Griffin-Gilbert group has decided, after careful consideration, not to submit a final bid for Chelsea FC,’ read a Ricketts family statement.
‘In the process of finalising the proposal, it became increasingly clear that certain issues could not be addressed given the unusual dynamics around the sales process.
‘We have great admiration for Chelsea and its fans and we wish the new owners well.’
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