The English Football League today approved the sale of Chelsea to the consortium led by American billionaire Todd Boehly, and this operation is still subject to a special license from the British Government.
The license for the sale of the London club to the group led by Boehly is necessary, since the third-placed team in the last edition of the Premier League works with limitations, due to the British sanctions imposed on the still Russian owner Roman Abramovich, following the Russian invasion. to Ukraine on 24 February.
At the moment, Chelsea operates with a special authorization that expires on May 31, which allows it to carry out certain operations, such as receiving money for television rights and selling tickets for certain matches, being that it will need a special extension to be able to complete the purchase of Boehly, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
On 7 May, Londoners announced that the group led by Boehly would acquire Chelsea for £4.25 billion (€4.9 billion).
As explained by the Premier League in a statement, Boehly and his consortium have passed the owners and presidents test, leaving Chelsea to work with the relevant authorities to ensure the transaction can be completed.
As soon as the Government gives the ‘green light’ and the operation is completed, Chelsea will be able to operate normally, being able to reopen the club store, Buy and sell players, as well as resume the sale of tickets for all domestic competitions and international.
In addition to Boehly, investment firm Clearlake Capital, American millionaire Mark Walter, also co-owner of the Dodgers, and Swiss tycoon Hansjörg Wyss are involved in the consortium.
Today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs confirmed contacts with the British government about the sale of Chelsea, controlled by Roman Abramovich until the international sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine, with João Gomes Cravinho guaranteeing that they are to be applied.
“In relation to Chelsea, of course, there is an absolutely fundamental point here: Portugal applies the sanctions that were decreed by the European Union. We do it rigorously, we do it without exceptions, and this is how we apply the sanctions, this is how we will continue to apply the sanctions”, said the head of Portuguese diplomacy, questioned by journalists on the sidelines of the visit. which he is carrying out on the island of Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
Since the oligarch Roman Abramovich holds a Portuguese passport, the Portuguese authorities will also have to authorize the deal, as the BBC reported on Monday.
“The British government is studying possibilities of alienating what is currently owned by a person on the sanctions list. Obviously, we are in dialogue with the British government, we are in dialogue with the European Commission, but we will be intransigent in the application of our legal obligations”, said João Gomes Cravinho.