Ricketts Family withdraw ownership bid to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich

The bidders, officially known as the Ricketts-Griffin-Gilbert Group, were one of the final four left in the process after a deadline from sellers Raine Group passed yesterday, but released a statement on Friday announcing their withdrawal.

The statement read: ‘The Ricketts-Griffin-Gilbert group has decided, after careful consideration, not to submit a final bid for Chelsea FC. In the process of finalising the proposal, it became increasingly clear that certain issues could not be addressed given the unusual dynamics around the sales process.

‘We have great admiration for Chelsea and its fans and we wish the new owners well.’

The bid had been shrouded into controversy and had faced vehement opposition from supporters groups, owing in part to racism allegation against Ricketts family members and financial donations to Donald Trump’s campaign for the American presidency.

The final three bids in with a chance of succeeding are understood to have come from LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, and Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca.

The Premier League club has been up for sale since current owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, with the oligarch’s close links to Russian president Vladimir Putin coming under scrutiny.

Abramovich’s UK assets have been frozen, which has put Chelsea in a precarious financial position, as they can no longer perform day-to-day transactions including selling match tickets as normal or opening retail stores while Abramovich retains control of the club.

Sponsors including telecoms firm Three and car manufacturer Hyundai have suspended their agreements with the club, and with football clubs operating on low liquidity business models, the need to sell soon is clear.

On the pitch, Chelsea were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Real Madrid earlier this week, and lost the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool in February.

Thomas Tuchel’s men are not in contention to win the Premier League but did secure their first ever FIFA Club World Cup victory in January, and will face Crystal Palace in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley on Sunday.

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