The sale of Chelsea to Todd Boehly will be finalized this week, with the UK government now more convinced that Roman Abramovich’s £1.6 billion loan to the club would not go to the oligarch.
Whitehall insiders have expressed their worries that the club might not be able to continue operations if the deadline for the contract is not reached.
However, according to a recent article by The Guardian, there is an “increasing confidence” that legally enforceable agreements will be worked upon with Abramovich to ensure that the money would be placed in a frozen account and under the jurisdiction of the government.
According to The Telegraph, the British government has provided Abramovich with the “green light” to proceed with the sale, which must be finalized by the end of May.
The government has devised a two-step process that must be followed for Boehly’s £2.5 billion proposal to be placed into an escrow account, where it will remain until the government is satisfied that the earnings would be donated to a charity that assists war victims in Ukraine.
On Sunday, Boehly was present for Chelsea’s match against Watford, which they won 2-1 thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Ross Barkley. With the win, Chelsea were able to formally secure third place in the Premier League standings.
Thomas Tuchel, the manager of the Blues, had said the takeover must be finalized promptly. If this does not occur, they risk falling behind their domestic competitors who have greater freedom to invest.
Real Madrid have already completed the signing of Antonio Rudiger, while Barcelona have completed the signing of Andreas Christensen. There has also been significant speculation that Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta will join the Catalan giants.
Due to the limbo period that the club is now in, they are unable to buy or sell players, nor can they offer new contracts to members of their team. In addition to that, they have not been successful in selling new tickets for games held at Stamford Bridge.
