The Premier League have approved the £4.25bn takeover of Chelsea by a consortium led by American billionaire Todd Boehly.
The completion of the deal still depends on UK government approval – they must issue a sale licence for the takeover to finalise – but all of the Blues’ prospective board members have passed the Premier League’s owners’ and directors test.
It’s expected that Boehly’s takeover will be finalised by the end of the working week, less than seven days before Chelsea’s special operating licence expires.
A Premier League statement read: “The Premier League Board has today approved the proposed takeover of Chelsea Football Club by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Consortium.
“The purchase remains subject to the Government issuing the required sale licence and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction. The Board has applied the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT) to all prospective Directors, and undertaken the necessary due diligence.
“The members of the Consortium purchasing the club are affiliates of the Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter. Chelsea FC will now work with the relevant Governments to secure the necessary licences to complete the takeover.”
Chelsea have effectively been operating under a transfer embargo ever since Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government for his close ties to Russia president Vladimir Putin.
The club have also been hit with restrictions on ticket sales and travel costs over the past few months, and a number of players – albeit indirectly – have chosen to leave the club at the expiry of their contracts with Chelsea unable to do operate in the market.
Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are among those who will depart for pastures new, and there’s a chance club captain Cesar Azpilicueta could follow the latter to Barcelona – with the Catalan giants interested in signing him in addition to left wing-back Marcos Alonso.
