The era of Roman Abramovich, subject to sanctions by the British government, ended at Chelsea Football Club after 19 years.
Roman Abramovich has completed the sale of Chelsea and related companies to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, the Premier League club said on Monday.
The consortium, which won the bid to acquire the London side earlier this month, received approval from the Premier League and the British government last week for the sale to go ahead. A final agreement was reached on Saturday.
Boehly, part-owner of MLB franchise Los Angeles Dodgers, sealed a $5.2 billion deal for the 2021 UEFA Champions League winners. Chelsea said the new owners would pay 2.5 billion pounds to purchase shares while committing a further 1.75 billion pounds to invest in the stadium, women’s team, the academy and the Chelsea Foundation.
All proceeds would be placed in a frozen UK bank account and Russian former owner Roman Abramovich, who is currently subject to sanctions by the British government, would donate all of the proceeds to charitable causes.
On Saturday, Abramovich published an emotional farewell message to Chelsea supporters. The Russian-Jewish oligarch, who has owned the club for almost two decades, said it “has been an honor of a lifetime” to be a part of Chelsea.
Abramovich put the club up for sale in early March following his country’s invasion of Ukraine.