Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich and the UK Government have reportedly found an agreement to push ahead with the sale of the club side after he was sanctioned for his close ties with President Vladimir Putin following invasion of Ukraine.
Reports emerged earlier on Friday that Downing Street had opened negotiations with the Russian billionaire’s advisers over the terms of the sale, which he is eager to push through as quickly as possible.
This came after the club were handed a sporting license to continue with their football-related activities, but any sale of the club was put on hold.
Now according to news outlet, The Daily Telegraph, the two parties are striking a deal in a major boost to the west London outfit.
The UK Government regards a quick sale as the best outcome for Chelsea and its fans, but for that to happen, Roman Abramovich would have to agree to writing off loans of over £1.5billion without receiving any of the proceeds.
The report is claiming that the Russian billionaire has instructed The Raine Group – the American bank that paused the sale after he was sanctioned on Thursday due to his reported links to Vladimir Putin – to continue the process of completing a takeover.
The same group also claims a deadline of the end of next week – pushed back from Tuesday – has been set for prospective new buyers’ first bids to be submitted, with Roman Abramovich now hoping for a rapid sale and Raine hoping it attracts more bidders.
However, The Telegraph also add a so-called ‘doomsday’ scenario is also a possible eventuality and could come become reality if the Russian cannot sell and the sporting license is not amended to allow more less stringent terms.
British billionaire Nick Candy has confirmed in recent days he is still pursuing a bid for the London based club.
The 49-year-old property developer is a Chelsea fan, who is planning to attend Sunday’s Premier League home match against Newcastle and has pledged to put supporters at the centre of his plans for the club that will be jointly-funded with American investors.
‘We are examining the details of the announcement and we are still interested in making a bid,’ a spokesperson for Candy told Sportsmail.
‘Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty for all Chelsea fans. In our view no one is the owner of a football club – you are the custodian of it for the fans and the community.’