The three contenders submitted ultimate bids final week, with the anticipated sale worth someplace round $4 billion. U.S. non-public fairness buyers Josh Harris and David Blitzer — who personal the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils — are a part of the Broughton bid and would maintain the controlling stake in Chelsea if that group is chosen, although Harris and Blitzer would then have to promote their minority stake in fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace.
A Hamilton spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian that the seven-time Formula One champion has joined Broughton’s bid. Hamilton was thought to be a fan of Arsenal, one other Premier League club in London, however on Friday he instructed ESPN that he was pressured to turn into a fan of that group at a younger age by his older sister.
“When I was young, around the corner from where I lived, I used to play football with all the kids and a couple of close friends at the time. I really wanted to fit in. I was the only kid of color there,” Hamilton stated. “I knew all the kids supported someone different, one was Tottenham Hotspur, one was Manchester United.
“I remember switching between these teams when I was younger and getting home and my sister Sam punching me several times in the arm, basically beat me, saying ‘You have to support Arsenal!’
“I remember 5, 6 years old that I then became a supporter of Arsenal. But my Uncle Terry is a big Blues fan, so I’ve been to so many games with him to watch Arsenal and Chelsea play. Ultimately I’m a sporting fan — it is the biggest sport in the world and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world and most successful.”
Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner and seven-time Wimbledon champion, is an investor in Angel City FC, which can start play this month within the National Women’s Soccer League.
In 2011, NBA star LeBron James bought a 2 p.c stake in Premier League club Liverpool, an funding that has grown in worth because the group has resumed its place among the many giants of European soccer. Last yr, James elevated his possession stake within the club, changing into a minor associate of Fenway Sports Group, the American consortium that owns Liverpool.
A consortium led by Todd Boehly, an investor who owns minority stakes within the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers, and a joint effort from Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca and Canadian businessman Larry Tanenbaum — whose firm owns the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors — are the opposite two teams bidding to buy Chelsea. The Ricketts household, which owns the Chicago Cubs, dropped out of the operating final week after Chelsea followers objected to Islamophobic feedback that household patriarch Joe Ricketts made in 2010.
Since the billionaire Abramovich purchased the club in 2003, Chelsea has turn into a world soccer energy, with 5 Premier League titles and two Champions League victories — together with final yr’s — over that span. But March 2, after Russia had invaded Ukraine and amid requires the British authorities to freeze Abramovich’s property, he introduced he was promoting the club.