Chelsea owners: Who are the people buying the football club?
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The government has approved a £4.25 billion takeover of Chelsea Football Club.
The club will be bought by a group of business people who run big sports teams in the US, like the famous baseball team LA Dodgers.
Chelsea was put up for sale in March by owner Roman Abramovich before he was sanctioned by the UK government for his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A sanction is a financial penalty applied to a country, or even individual people, by another when they are seen to be doing something wrong.
Who are the people buying the club and what does it all mean? Read on to find out more.
Chelsea agreed to sell to the group - led by a businessman called Ted Boehly - earlier in May, but the sale had to be agreed by the Premier League and the UK government first.
The Premier League confirmed the group had passed its checks on Tuesday.
The government wanted to make sure Mr Abramovich wouldn't benefit from the sale of the club, and have now released a statement saying: "Late last night the UK government reached a position where we could issue a licence that permits the sale of Chelsea.
"Following the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich ... we have always been clear that the long-term future of the club could only be secured under a new owner.
"Following extensive work, we are now satisfied that the full proceeds of the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or any other sanctioned individual. We will now begin the process of ensuring the proceeds of the sale are used for humanitarian causes in Ukraine, supporting victims of the war."
Who is buying Chelsea?
Todd Boehly leads the group buying Chelsea. He's a businessman and is involved in some big US sports teams.
He owns 20% of famous baseball team, the LA Dodgers.
He is also a part-owner of US women's basketball outfit the Los Angeles Sparks.
He also shares a 27% stake in basketball team the Los Angeles Lakers.
Clearlake Capital is a Californian company, which would own a majority of the shares in Chelsea.
It's a business that invests money in other businesses, and it has more than $72bn (£58bn) of assets under management.
Mark Walter is another US businessman who is involved in sports.
Walter is also a co-owner of the LA Dodgers, and has a stake in the LA Lakers.
He and his wife also own a wildlife preserve in Florida, which features threatened and endangered species.
Hansjoerg Wyss is a Swiss billionaire worth around £4bn.
The 86-year-old made his fortune through medical technology.
He has promised to donate most of his money to good causes, and has made major donations to environmental and scientific causes.
Are you a Chelsea fan? Do you think the sale is good news? Let us know in the comments...
- Published3 March 2022
- Published11 March 2022