The Premier League are expected to give the green light to Todd Boehly’s proposed takeover of Chelsea in the coming days, but the fate of the deal rests with the UK Government.
It was reported on Monday that the entire takeover had been ‘thrown into doubt’ over concerns about the destination of the £2.5bn Boehly will pay for the Blues.
Current owner Roman Abramovich is forbidden from receiving the money and had instead planned to donate it to charity, but reports have claimed that he is yet to confirm the details of that donation and a takeover cannot be completed without that.
However, other outlets have disputed the severity of this stumbling block, with most suggesting a deal will still be finalised in the coming days.
According to The Telegraph, the Premier League are prepared to do their part to push through the deal by confirming that Boehly has passed their Owners’ & Directors’ Test, which began even before he was announced as the lead bidder.
League officials are satisfied that Boehly and his consortium are suitable owners for Chelsea, but while the Government are happy to pass control to Boehly as well, they remain locked in talks over the destination of the money.
Amid all the uncertainty, Blues sponsors Trivago took to Twitter to ‘welcome’ Boehly to the Chelsea family.
Welcome to the @ChelseaFC family, Todd Boehly! #LetsGo ⚽
— trivago (@trivago) May 17, 2022
Mike Penrose, a former UNICEF director, has been in contact with Abramovich and has been tasked with setting up a foundation to help Ukraine to which the £2.5bn will eventually be donated.
“The only thing between this becoming a reality and now, is politics,” Penrose told PA. “I have absolutely no interest in the politics of the sale. I have no interest in the politics of the Government. If politics gets in the way, then that is to me almost criminal, it really is.
“I’ve written into the document that’s gone to the Government that no-one who has ever been associated with the club, associated with the owner, can or will ever receive financial benefit.
“And that would go into the articles of association of the foundation. That’s written into the document that’s now in the hands of the Government. I’ve written an overview, a scoping document on the foundation, on what we want to achieve, and an initial budget to set the thing up, and get it running and allocating money.
“I’d like to say I was confident, but I’m nervous about the politics of it all.
“I’ve spent my entire life in humanitarian aid, and I’m very worried that what might come out of this is politics over decent humanitarian action.
“But on the other hand I also hope that this Government sees the opportunity that it has here. The UK Government could create the world’s leading humanitarian foundation. And I’m prepared to stand up in front of any Government committee, panel, anything, and attest to the neutrality of how this is being created.
“I hope they see fit to allow it to go ahead, and I hope they allow us to get the money to the front line in Ukraine very quickly.”
