Chelsea FC news live updates: Takeover latest and contenders as fan group urge Ricketts family bid to be turned down

A second superyacht belonging to Chelsea owner and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has docked in a resort in southwestern Turkey — a country which is not applying sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Turkish media reports said Tuesday.

The private DHA news agency said the Bermuda-registered Eclipse docked at a port in the resort of Marmaris, amid international efforts to freeze assets belonging to top Russian businessmen linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A day earlier, Abramovich’s Bermuda-flagged luxury yacht My Solaris arrived in the nearby resort of Bodrum, triggering a protest by a group of Ukrainians who boarded a small motor boat and tried to prevent the yacht from docking.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has promised his team will give everything in an unlikely attempt to reel in Premier League pacesetters Manchester City and Liverpool.

The Blues made light of the off-field issues surrounding the club on Saturday evening to ease their way into the FA Cup semi-finals with a comfortable 2-0 sixth round victory at Championship Middlesbrough.

They will hope their ongoing ownership issues are resolved by the time they run out at Wembley next month and in the meantime, will set about the task of attempting to close a 10-point gap to the second-placed Reds, who trail the reigning champions by a single point.

Asked if they could still involve themselves in the race, Tuchel, whose side have lost only once in 14 games in all competitions – on penalties to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final – said: “The problem is they are also on a run since a long time.

“They are like three years on a run, I have the feeling, it seems like they are three years on a run and it’s like our 13 games is not enough.

“We have to be honest. We will never admit anything before things are decided, we will always push ourselves and push ourselves to the limit. We cannot do anything else.”

Three, the telecoms company, announced they had asked Chelsea to remove their logo and branding from the club’s shirts as well as from around Stamford Bridge and their Cobham training ground.

Three’s deal with Chelsea is worth a reported £40 million a year while other companies such as Hyundai and Zapp have also suspended their sponsorship agreements. Nike, Chelsea’s kit manufacturer, plan to honour their multi-year deal, however.

Despite Three’s request for their logo to be removed from Chelsea’s shirts, their branding was still prominent in the Premier League fixtures against Norwich and Newcastle and the weekend’s FA Cup tie against Middlebrough.

In the case of the Norwich match, Three’s statement was published just two hours before kick-off at Carrow Road, leaving Chelsea little time to alter their match kits. However, in the matches since, the Three logo remained on the shirts because the Premier League side were unable to transfer the funds needed to produce fresh shirts in light of the sanctions placed on owner Roman Abramovich and the restrictions facing the club.

It has left Chelsea having to ignore Three’s request, and the telecoms company are said to be understanding of the Blues’ predicament while discussions are taking place with Nike to reach a solution.

Sir Martin Broughton has vowed Chelsea would never again face another fight for their future should he win the battle to buy the Stamford Bridge club.

The former British Airways chairman has submitted his consortium bid to buy Chelsea, alongside fellow Blues fan and World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe.

Major US financier Michael Klein has a prominent role in Broughton’s bid, that pledges to keep Chelsea at European football’s pinnacle.

Amid a proposal to put fans at the centre of club decision-making, Broughton pledged to stop Chelsea ever suffering again from geopolitical shifts.

“The plan will guarantee that the club is never beholden to a single individual or sovereign wealth fund, ensuring that the club never faces a crisis like this again,” read a statement outlining Broughton’s plans.

The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust have had their say on the ownership situation and are adamant that the new owners must create a golden share for fans’ to help safeguard the future of the club.

A statement from the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust read: “The CST has been clear that any new owner must demonstrate their commitment to supporters by creating a golden share for fans.

“We believe it is essential that the new owners listen to supporters and give them a stake in the club. We strongly welcome the bidders who have publicly confirmed their intention to do so.

“We believe that every prospective owner should make this public commitment to protecting the club’s heritage by issuing a golden share for fans. The government should discount any bid unwilling to do so.”

Chelsea are braced for a new era with the Roman Abramovich era set to end amid a flurry of bids to buy the European and world champions.

After sanctions against the Russian oligarch, including the freezing of his assets, the UK government are now overseeing the move which will bring a close to one of the most successful periods in world football history following his takeover of the club in 2003.

Initially handing over stewardship of the club in the wake of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, Abramovich stated that he would be selling the club as it was in “the best interest of the fans, employees, sponsors and partners”.

With five Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues and two Europa Leagues, five FA Cups, three League Cups, one Uefa Super Cup and one Club World Cup, Abramovich has delivered unprecedented success for the Londoners, transforming them into one of Europe’s biggest and most successful clubs.

That platform means only a select group of the uber-rich will be able to afford the purchase of the London club, here are some contenders who could buy Chelsea:

Chelsea supporters view the Ricketts family’s bid to purchase the club with “universal disdain” owing to their political views and donations and want it to be rejected, according to the leader of a prominent fans’ group.

American firm Raine Group is conducting the club’s sale, and a variety of bids from individual billionaires and consortiums have been submitted. One bid has come from the Ricketts family, the owners of the Chicago Cubs.

The bid is being fronted by Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, whose father Joe came in for heavy criticism in 2012 after calling muslims “the enemy” in the United States.

In 2016, the elder Ricketts donated at least one million dollars to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, while son Pete Ricketts has served as governor of Nebraska since 2014 and has faced criticism for his support of the death penalty, backing of Trump during his impeachment trial, and climate change scepticism.

Now the head of the Chelsea Chicago Supporters Club Brian Wolff says that the family’s bid must be rejected.

American-backed bids from LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family are among the front-runners to take over at Chelsea.

Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe have another potent offering lodged, while Saudi Media Group is another of the bids understood to carry clout, and New York-based bank Raine Group is moving quickly through the process given Chelsea’s need for a fast transfer of ownership.

London-based global investment firm Centricus confirmed its bid to buy Chelsea on Monday, with a consortium comprising four Blues supporters. Centricus co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam and chief executive Garth Ritchie launched the bid, alongside Cheyne Capital hedge fund manager Jonathan Lourie and Talis Capital’s Bob Finch.

Chelsea fan and British property tycoon Nick Candy has secured further funding through another South Korean financial backer, allowing the 49-year-old to submit an improved offer for the Stamford Bridge club. Candy added South Korean investors Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports Group to the bid he submitted on Friday.

Four Chelsea fans are behind London investment firm Centricus’ bid to buy the Blues, pledging “exemplary custodianship” of the Stamford Bridge club.

Global investment specialist Centricus manages a £29 billion fund, with co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam and chief executive Garth Ritchie both big Chelsea fans.

Fellow supporters Cheyne Capital hedge fund manager Jonathan Lourie and Talis Capital’s Bob Finch have joined forces with Centricus for a bid to buy Chelsea that was submitted ahead of Friday night’s deadline.

Centricus is the latest to declare its candidacy to buy Chelsea, revealing its intentions to maintain the Blues’ status as one of the globe’s elite teams.

The Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise and are heading up a consortium that are aiming to purchase Chelsea, are flying to London as part of their bid, according to Sky Sports News.

New York-based merchant bank Raine Group are still determining which three bids for the club will be shortlisted from the long-list of contenders – with an announcement expected by Wednesday morning at the latest – but the fact that the Ricketts are heading across the Atlantic may suggest they are confident of being one of the chosen three.

The bid is being fronted by Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, whose father Joe came in for heavy criticism in 2012 after calling muslims “the enemy” in the United States. In 2016, the elder Ricketts donated at least one million dollars to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, while son Pete Ricketts has served as governor of Nebraska since 2014 and has faced criticism for his support of the death penalty, backing of Trump during his impeachment trial, and climate change scepticism.