Chelsea is the seventh most valuable club in world football, according to KPMG football benchmark. The club was valued at £2.4 billion by Forbes in April 2021. But since then, they have won a second Champions League title, and a Club World Cup – last month – to increase the club’s value.
Roman Abramovich is interested in selling Chelsea and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has shown significant interest. There are four other contenders – Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Todd Boehly, Loutfy Mansour and Conor McGregor – who are yet to be as clear as Wyss about their interest.
Abramovich recruited American brokers to locate a buyer for the club, and a £3.5 billion proposal is sure to attract plenty of interest, The Mirror reported.
Interested parties are thought to have been told that Abramovich wants around £4 billion for Chelsea, but sources close to the process believe that he can only expect to receive bids in the region of £2bn, Daily Telegraph reported.
The club announced Abramovich’s departure on Saturday, but it now appears that a new takeover could be on the cards, as the 55-year-old has come under heavy criticism as one of Russia’s high-profile oligarchs with assets and businesses in Britain, most notably Chelsea fc.
Abramovich has previously turned down £2.2 billion bids for Chelsea, as the club owes him £1.51 billion in club investments. Plenty of that money has gone into signing first-team players and Chelsea’s current squad is worth close to £1 billion, according to the club’s latest financial results.
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The owner of Chelsea wants to retrieve all of that money as part of the sale, which is why his asking price is said to be too high for some.
The Blues have won every trophy available to be won since Abramovich purchased the club in 2003, bringing with it immense money and riches as they became one of the world’s most successful clubs.
Five Premier Leagues, five FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, two UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Europa Leagues, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA Club World Cup are among the trophies in the clubs trophy cabinet.
There have been calls for further sanctions for Chelsea’s owner, due to his alleged connections to Vladimir Putin and his regime, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But one problem that stands in the way of potential buyers for the west London football club is the high asking price put up by Abramovich. Wyss told Swiss German-language newspaper Blick that it was “far too much”.
The Russian billionaire is estimated to be worth £9.4 billion, and he has so far turned down all proposals that fall short of his expectations.
According to Wyss, he is eager to sell the club quickly, and if this is the case, Abramovich may have no choice but to accept a somewhat lower offer than what he has asked.
