Chelsea sale: Deal plunged into doubt after U-turn on loan repayment – reports
Fresh doubt surrounds the proposed sale of Chelsea after it was reported that owner Roman Abramovich wants to change the structure of the deal.
Having previously indicated that he was willing to write off more than £1.5bn of debt owed by the club to another of his companies, he is now said to have asked for it to be paid to a separate Jersey-based entity which appears to have links to his business empire.
Russian Abramovich was sanctioned by the Government following the invasion of Ukraine and is not allowed to receive any of the sale proceeds.
On Friday bankers acting for Abramovich appointed a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly the preferred bidder for Chelsea.
Boehly’s group was given a five-day period of exclusivity to conclude a deal, which is expected to exceed £2.5bn and become the most expensive sports team ever traded.
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe shook up the sale process by lodging an 11th-hour bid for the Premier League club on Friday.
The Ineos boss has now held initial talks with Chelsea fans groups but remains the outsider in the running to buy the west London outfit.
Other bidders include groups led by former British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton and Bain Capital co-founder Steve Pagliuca.
City PM approached a spokesperson for Abramovich for comment.