Who wants to buy Chelsea Football Club
In 2003 Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire bought Chelsea FC for £190 million.
How do you think Chelsea fans felt?
How did this affect the world of football?
He was the first super rich owner to spend hundreds of millions of his own money on players and salaries.
As a result, the prices of players globally rose
Why do you think Abramovich wanted to spend his own money?
future profit
access to UK industries
sports washing
sports washing: holding a tournament or buying a sports team to improve the image of yourself or your country
Can you think of any examples of sports washing?
Russia
China
Qatar
How much do you think Abramovich wants for the club?
(he paid £190 million in 2003)
A few weeks ago he was asking for £3 billion.
Are these points pros or cons for buying it? Why?
It’s in central London
They are usually in the Champions League
Abramovic has spent £1.5 billion of his own money to make the club successful
In the last 15 years the club has only made a profit 4 times
They were almost bankrupt in 2003 when he bought it
The stadium only holds 40,000 and due to it’s location, it’s very expensive to expand it
(Manchester United’s stadium holds 76,000)Abramovich wants to sell the club quickly because of sanctions by the British government
Nick Candy - £2 billion
A luxury property developer who has partnered with 2 South Korean partners
The Ricketts Family - £2.3 billion
They are the American owners of the Chicago Cubs
Saudi Media Group - £2.7 billion
They claim to have no connection to the government but there is funding from the chairman of Saudi Telecom Company (STC) which is owned by the Saudi Arabian state.
The government has a bad image because of it’s poor human rights record
Which buyer do you think the fans prefer?
This year Newcastle was bought by Saudi Arabia, a country known for a terrible human rights record. How did Newcastle fans feel?
How did the British Government feel about Saudi Arabia wanting to buy a football team?
Which buyer do you think will win?
sources:
https://news.sky.com/story/chelsea-sale-deadline-for-bids-passes-heres-who-submitted-offers-to-buy-the-football-club-12569867
https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2022/03/16/chelsea-report-saudi-arabian-consortium-makes-3-5-billion-offer/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2020/01/08/how-chelsea-went-from-record-60m-profit-to-96m-loss-in-one-year/?sh=1db7f55a3b4c