SPORTS
Top Chelsea richest bidders who will likely to become new owner
The race to become the new owner of Chelsea is heating up, as the process of selling the club Roman Abramovich has owned since 2003 continues.
Potential buyers have until 9pm on Friday (March 18) to submit their final bids to buy the club to The Raine Group, the investment firm handling the takeover process.
Several bidders have already gone public with their interest in the club and intentions to bid, including Chelsea fan Nick Candy and former US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson.
Ghanaian gold miner Bernard Antwi Boasiako confirmed his intention to bid to buy Chelsea earlier this week but may struggle to do so on his own.
The reported £3billion price tag slapped on Chelsea has not fazed, Boasiako, though, and he wants to restore stability at the club and continue the legacy of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien.
The property tycoon shares a joint net worth of £1.5billion with his brother and business partner Christian and has recruited Blues legend Gianluca Vialli as part of his bid.
Candy was present at last Sunday’s 1-0 league win over Newcastle United and the season ticket holder has been vocal in his calls for the club to be in safe hands with fan representation on the board.
The overall net worth and value of the Saudi Media Group is currently unknown, although the consortium is being led by Mohamed Alkhereiji, who is valued at £1.7billion.
Alkhereiji and the Saudi Media Group are understood to have already lodged a £2.7billion bid to buy Chelsea earlier this week and have the backing of Mohammed bin Khalid Al Saud.
While Khalid Al Saud has not yet backed the consortium financially, he is a member of the House of Saud, who are worth a staggering £1.19trillion.
Former US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson has a net worth of £4.2billion according to Bloomberg and has made a £2billion bid to buy Chelsea.
It is said that Johnson is hopeful his links to the city of London from his time as ambassador can give him a boost in his hopes to complete a takeover.
Atlanta Hawks owner Antony Ressler has emerged as a fresh candidate to buy Chelsea this week, having held talks to buy the club.
According to The Sun, Ressler, who has a net worth of £4.2billion, held talks with the Raine Group in Memphis earlier this week.
Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak has been vocal with his interest in buying Chelsea and has claimed he was close to agreeing a deal before sanctions were imposed on Abramovich earlier this month.
The construction and investment tycoon is believed to have held talks with Abramovich in Turkey prior to the Chelsea owner being sanctioned.
Bayrak, who is the chairman of AB Group Holding, is among the wealthiest potential new owners with a net worth of £8.3billion.
Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss were among the first names linked with buying Chelsea as Abramovich looked to cut ties with the club.
The pair are understood to have been approached to submit bids and have since joined up to form a consortium to buy the club.
With a combined net worth of £8.9billion, the duo seem among the best placed to be able to provide significant funding to Chelsea in the future.
According to Forbes, Wall Street investor Griffin has a net worth of £21billion, while the Ricketts, who own the Chicago Cubs are valued at £3.4bn.
This gives the group a combined worth of £24.4billion, with an expectation a successful bid would lead to the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, with the Ricketts having done the same with the Cubs’ Wrigley Field.
Combined, that makes the group richer than Man City owner Sheikh Mansour’s estimated net worth of £22billion.
