Former Chelsea captain, John Terry is now fully involved in the process that is expected to produce the new owner of the club. He has joined the True Blues Consortium which seeks to buy a 10 percent stake in the club.
Recall that since March 2, 2022, the outgoing owner of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich placed the Premier League side up for sale. The Russian billionaire who has been the owner of the club since 2003 decided to sell the club after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine placed him and the club under intense pressure.
Days after he declared that Chelsea was for sale, the government of the United Kingdom sanctioned him by freezing all his assets in the UK except Chelsea which has been placed under strict restrictions.
Despite not being directly involved in the day-to-day running of the club, the Raine Group, the bank that was given the responsibility of selling the club is said to be following Abramovinch’s £3 billion price tag placed on Chelsea.
The fact that Chelsea has been one of the most successful clubs in Europe, especially in the last 19 years, has motivated a series of billionaires to bid for the club.
Before the deadline for bidders to submit their bids elapsed on March 18, over five attractive bids have been submitted. Some of the top bidders are said to be Nick Candy, Sir Martin Broughton, Todd Boehly, and the Ricketts family.
Recently, John Terry who is a product of the Chelsea youth system and played for the club between 1998 and 2017, announced via his Twitter page that he is backing the True Blues consortium which seeks to buy a 10 percent stake in the club for the club’s supporters.
The consortium is led by John Terry and former Chelsea women’s player Claire Rafferty. Also, Chelsea Pitch Owners, who own the Stamford Bridge freehold, and the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust are part of the consortium.
Before the deadline for bidders was over, the consortium has made contacts with Raine Group to make their interest known. The consortium has pledged to support any of the bidders that win the bid.
Afterward, the consortium will allow the club’s supporters to buy a share in the club for as low as £100, and a supporter of the club will be elected to represent the fans on the club’s board.
A statement on John Terry’s Twitter page read: “Chelsea has been such an important part of my life for 22 years.
“I want to see the club’s history and heritage protected as we go into a new era with like-minded people who have the same long-term vision of building the best football club in the world and understand how important our DNA is.
“Having met with and heard what the True Blues Consortium is about, I know they understand. They’re a group of lifelong Chelsea fans and season ticket holders who have created a concept that will complement and assist any preferred bidder running the club while adding fan connection and engagement with the board.
“This innovative structure is designed to be inclusive of all Chelsea fans and protect our club.
“I’m thankful for the Chelsea Pitch Owners and Chelsea Supporters’ Trust’s time and support on this and we hope we will be welcome investors into the club’s new structure.”
— John Terry (@JohnTerry26) March 19, 2022
Before John Terry left Chelsea for Aston Villa in 2017 where he retired from professional football and started a coaching career in 2018, the 41-year-old English football icon helped the club to win five Premier League titles, five FA Cup titles, three league cups, one UEFA Champions League and one Europa Cup.
John Terry also won two Chelsea player of the year award, three UEFA Club defender of the year, and one Premier League player of the month before he retired.
Just like John Terry, coach Thomas Tuchel is anxiously waiting for who will be Chelsea’s new owner:
If things continue the way they are at Chelsea until June 30, 2022, the club would not be able to renew the contracts of the players whose contracts will expire this summer.
Also, the club would not be able to sign new players due to the sanctions slammed against the club’s outgoing owner, Roman Abramovich.
One of the personalities at the club that might be worst affected if things remain this way is the club’s coach Thomas Tuchel.
After the coach led Chelsea to defeat Middlesbrough in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Thomas Tuchel said he hoped the process for Chelsea to get a new owner is fast-tracked.
“I hope the process goes through as soon as possible to clear the situation and calm the situation down so we can have an outlook on the near future,” Tuchel said.
“As far as I know things will be pushed as fast as possible so we can see ourselves in a calmer situation.”
