March 28 – Chelsea could have new owners in place by as soon as the end of April, with four bidders left in the frame according to reports.
The four remaining contenders have until April 11 to submit revised bids as the club looks set to be sold for close to Russian owner Roman Abramovich’s £3 billion asking price.
Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca was the final addition to the four-strong shortlist to buy Chelsea last Friday.
Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family, a consortium headed by former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton and LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly are the other bidders reported to be still in the race.
Opposition to the Ricketts bid has been widely expressed since it emerged that Joe Ricketts, the family patriarch, was accused of Islamophobia three years ago. The Ricketts family has said it “rejects any form of hate in the strongest possible terms”.
But on Friday, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust said that despite a meeting this week with the Ricketts family, “our concerns about their ability to run an inclusive, successful club on behalf of our diverse supporter base around the world have not yet been allayed”.
It added that unless the family could address those concerns publicly and urgently “the CST Board does not believe it would be in the best interests of our members and Chelsea supporters for their bid to succeed”.
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