The United Kingdom government on Wednesday approved the £4.25bn takeover of Premier League club Chelsea by a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly.
Chelsea was put up for sale in March in the aftermath of Russia invasion of Ukraine.
Russian businessman Roman Abramovich put up the club for sale before he was sanctioned by the government over his claimed links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, the Premier League said the consortium had passed its owners’ and directors’ test.
Chelsea have been operating under a special government licence which expires on 31 May.
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“Late last night the UK government reached a position where we could issue a licence that permits the sale of Chelsea,” a government spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The government does not want Abramovich to receive any of the proceeds from the sale, which will instead go into a frozen bank account to be donated to charity.
The statement added: “Following the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich, the government has worked hard to ensure Chelsea has been able to continue to play football. But we have always been clear that the long-term future of the club could only be secured under a new owner.
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“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.
“The steps today will secure the future of this important cultural asset and protect fans and the wider football community. We have been in discussions with relevant international partners for necessary licences required and we thank them for all their cooperation.”
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5 Comments
Though I don’t support the Russian -Ukranian war, this act by the UK government is pure injustice; Abrahamovic didn’t start this war, neither is he funding it. Notably, he has done a lot of good for the club and the UK in general since he bought Chelsea.
So, he will just loose his huge investment just like that! This is very unfair!
More importantly, supporting one side in a war instead of looking for a path to peace between the two waring parties is not good. It takes two parties to sustain a fight and also takes two parties to end hostilities. The UK government should work more towards this through diplomacy and real justice (to resolve the inciting factors) rather than this scape goat measure which have not solved any problems as regards this war.
You have said it all Nwanne!… Important to note when America was destroying Syria and Lebanon nobody once took this sort of act against Americans in Europe or UK. The UK are just pure unfair with this act period!
Though I don’t support the Russian -Ukranian war, this act by the UK government is pure injustice; Abramovic didn’t start this war, neither is he funding it. Notably, he has done a lot of good for the club and the UK in general since he bought Chelsea.
So, he will just loose his huge investment just like that! This is very unfair!
More importantly, supporting one side in a war instead of looking for a path to peace between the two waring parties is not good. It takes two parties to sustain a fight and also takes two parties to end hostilities. The UK government should work more towards this through diplomacy and real justice (to resolve the inciting factors) rather than this scape goat measure which has not solved any problem as regards this war.
Dangote steer clear of Arsenal for your own good
I feel sorry for Abramovich losing out on over £4b is wicked wow!UK government should show empathy on this guy at least let him have 75% of the sales he deserves it,he has given employment to a good numbers of people he has paid huge monies in taxes and helped in promoting the premier League he deserves an honour,because he didn’t support the UK government shouldn’t be used against him.
I’m not in support of war neither is Abramovich and Putin wars are caused by disagreement between 2 people,peoples.
They should rather look into the root of the matter and look for ways to bring truce and lasting peace between the waring nations.
We need a peaceful world enough of the killings.