Chelsea football club has agreed to a £4.25bn ($5.2bn) sale term of the club to a consortium led by Todd Boehly, co-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team.
The club was put up for sale before owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned for his alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
A Chelsea statement said the new owners will pay £2.5bn for the club’s shares. The proceeds will go into a frozen bank account to be donated to charity.
It was in 2019 when Boehly tried to buy the club off Roman Abramovich but a £2.2bn bid was rejected. This approach came shortly after Abramovich decided to withdraw his application for a UK visa and also amid halted progress on Stamford Bridge’s redevelopment.
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The new consortium is led by Boehly but Clearlake Capital, a Californian private equity firm, will own a majority of the shares in Chelsea.
Other investors include US billionaire Mark Walter, also a co-owner of the LA Dodgers, and Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss.
BBC Sport reports the new owners have agreed to not sell a majority stake in the club until 2032 and have given assurances over dividends and debt.
The consortium said it will provide £1.75bn to invest in the Premier League club, including “investments in Stamford Bridge, the academy, the women’s team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation”.
In the statement, Chelsea said the sale was expected to complete in late May. The takeover will require approval from the English football authorities and the UK government.
Chelsea are operating under a special licence from the UK government which ends on 31 May, but last month, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said the club were on “borrowed time” to complete the sale.
Any sale can only be signed off by the bidder passing the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.
Todd Boehly was pictured with Chelsea fans outside Stamford Bridge on Friday. Also in the photo is former Chancellor George Osborne, whose firm has signed onto the Boehly bid in an advisory capacity.
Boehly, an American investor and businessman, has a reported net worth of $4.5bn (£3.6bn), according to Forbes.
He is a part owner of the Dodgers – a US baseball franchise – and US women’s basketball outfit the Los Angeles Sparks, and owns a stake in the renowned LA Lakers NBA franchise.
His consortium also includes American PR executive Barbara Charone, British businessman Jonathan Goldstein and British journalist Daniel Finkelstein.
Other consortiums who had been in the running to buy Chelsea have been headed by Sir Martin Broughton and the co-owner of the Boston Celtics, Stephen Pagliuca, but they were told in late April that their bids were unsuccessful.
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe – majority shareholder of chemical group Ineos – made a late offer, but it arrived on 29 April, several weeks beyond the initial deadline for bids of 18 March.
Ratcliffe’s bid was dismissed but he said on 4 May that he was “not giving up”.
On Thursday, Abramovich said he has not asked for his £1.5bn loan to Chelsea to be repaid when the club is sold.
A spokesperson said Abramovich “remains committed” to making sure the proceeds from the sale “go to good causes”.
Super Eagles seal AFCON 2025 spot, draw 1-1 against Benin
Victor Osimhen’s late header helped the Super Eagles of Nigeria secure a 1-1 draw against Benin Republic in Abidjan, clinching their qualification for the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Benin, playing their matches in Côte d’Ivoire, took an early lead in the 16th minute when Mohammed Tijani headed in a short corner.
The goal followed a period of sustained pressure from the Beninoise side on the Nigerian defence.
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Benin nearly doubled their advantage shortly afterwards, but goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali made a crucial save to keep Nigeria in the game.
Osimhen threatened as the first half progressed, with a powerful header that narrowly missed the target.
In the second half, Benin came close again, but a shot veered inches wide of the right post, sparing the Eagles further trouble.
With nine minutes remaining, Osimhen rose to the occasion, connecting with a precise cross from Moses Simon to level the score at 1-1.
With this result, the Super Eagles top Group D with 11 points from five matches, while Benin hold second place with seven points.
BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have secured their qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, following Libya’s 1-0 victory over Rwanda in Kigali.
This result leaves Rwanda with five points from five matches, rendering them unable to surpass Nigeria in the standings, even if they win their upcoming match against the Super Eagles in Uyo.
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Currently, Nigeria leads Group D with 10 points, followed by Benin with six points, Rwanda with five, and Libya at the bottom with four points.
Benin remains in contention for the second qualification spot and will face Nigeria in a crucial match tonight.
Libya is set to host Benin in the final Group D game on Monday.
Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul
Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.
Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division during an imperious reign in the late 1980s, is lacing up the gloves once more to take on Youtuber Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.
The fight, which will be comprised of eight two-minute rounds, was initially due to take place in July but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.
That gory mid-air emergency has provided another piece of ammunition for the numerous critics who have condemned Friday’s contest as a macabre circus act that poses an unacceptable level of risk for Tyson, who last graced a professional ring in 2005, when he was beaten via a technical knockout after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.
“Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and was shot to pieces, right? I mean, completely shot,” the prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.
“If anyone thinks that Mike Tyson should be in a ring at this age, you either have absolutely no emotional feelings toward the man, or you’re an idiot. It shouldn’t be happening.”
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Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments.
“Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said after the bout was announced. “It’s as simple as that.
“Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is ridiculous. You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is is people who have stopped to look at a crash — and that’s what this is.”
Tyson, who US reports say is being paid around $20 million for Friday’s contest, has brushed off the concerns for his wellbeing, insisting when critics from the boxing world are motivated by jealousy.
“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” he said earlier this year. “The people who said that wish they were up here. No-one else can do this.”
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