EPL: Chelsea close to being sold as Abramovich’s lawyers fly into UK

By Joseph Ayinde

Chelsea’s takeover is on the verge of being completed after a legal resolution was found over a potential stumbling block to the deal.

A consortium led by US investor, Todd Boehly had agreed terms on a £4.25billion takeover to end the Roman Abramovich era.

But there had been “alarm” among UK Ministers that the deal may be at risk of “falling apart” over Abramovich’s alleged “refusal to agree” to a proposed sale structure.

With the final deadline for an agreement to go through two weeks away, negotiations looked to have hit another snag over the £1.6billion owed by Chelsea’s parent company, Fordstam Ltd, to Jersey-registered Camberley International Investments, a company with suspected links to Abramovich.

But The UK Times, citing a source close to Abramovich, reports the Russian oligarch insisted on Tuesday evening that lawyers have arrived at a solution which should satisfy Government officials.

The Government can now allow the deal to go through as a result of the resolution being found.

The Premier League is believed to be close to giving the takeover the green light, ending a turbulent period for the club after it was plunged into crisis by sanctions placed on Abramovich following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.