Chelsea has been under government sanctions for more than two months now. The Blues recently concluded their season with the 2-1 win over Watford, marking a historic end to the Roman Abramovich era. The Russian oligarch has been the owner of Chelsea Football Club for the last 19 years and he’s transformed it into a European juggernaut. The Club World Cup Champions now face a future of relative uncertainty with life under a new ownership group, who many assume will be American Todd Boehly and his consortium.
The win at the weekend over the Hornets actually marks the first victory that the part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been present to witness. He and his partner, Hansjorg Wyss, were at Stamford Bridge to celebrate Ross Barkley’s 91′ winner with the rest of the Blues faithful. Despite Boehly’s constant presence in SW6 over the last few weeks, a deal has not gotten over the line just yet. The special government license issued to the club has just a matter of days remaining on it, so the deadline is quickly approaching. There are cool heads all around west London regardless as the takeover is expected to get over the line in time. Fans were given an update on the situation on Wednesday morning amidst all of the fear-mongering by the British media.
The Premier League released a huge update regarding the Chelsea takeover
The Premier League released a statement late Tuesday to state that Boehly’s consortium has been given the green light to go ahead with the sale. The American ownership group officially passed the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test, which marked the first hurdle in this drawn out process. However, the good news didn’t stop there. Early Wednesday morning, the UK government officially announced it has granted Chelsea FC a sale license. This essentially means the sale of the club to Boehly and Co. has been approved by all of the necessary parties.
As reported by my colleague @Tom_Morgs the UK government have this morning announced they have issued a new licence for the sale of Chelsea. It's done! #cfc https://t.co/WFrkTekEt4
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) May 25, 2022
All of these confirmation messages have come out over the last 24 hours, but what’s next?
Well, it seems the remainder of the process—at least as far as Blues fans are concerned—is relatively straightforward. Boehly and his investors will simply need to fork over the money, cross their t’s and dot their i’s. It’s likely a completed sale is reached in the coming days. The British government’s focus now turns to the political aspect of the whole ordeal. It will keep a watchful eye on where the Americans’ money goes to ensure Abramovich doesn’t see a single bill.
Once the process is fully completed, Chelsea will be able to resume business as usual again. The Blues are expected to hit the ground running as it relates to first team transfers with a £200 million backing from Boehly. Thomas Tuchel revealed recently that he would not be going on holiday just yet as he’ll remain in SW6 to help the hierarchy formulate a plan for the summer. There will be plenty of important meetings as Tuchel prepares to construct a more competitive and consistent squad, regardless of departures.
While the transfer window may not officially open until July 1, it’s guaranteed that Chelsea will already have held discussions with other clubs around the world regarding incomings and outgoings. Transfer business is not all there is to talk about either. The club will also need to turn its focus to renewing the Blues’ two-time reigning Player of the Year, Mason Mount, as well as Reece James, for their efforts over the last three seasons.
How are you feeling about the Chelsea takeover? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!