One of the strangest, most politically charged episodes in the history of English football is finally over – here is the story of how it all unfolded

Chelsea can finally think about the future. One of the strangest, most unpredictable, most politically charged episodes in the history of English football is finally over. Roman Abramovich has left the building and Todd Boehly’s consortium has taken control of Chelsea after the UK government granted permission for the £4.25bn takeover to go through with a week to go before the club’s special operating licence was due to expire.

That date, 31 May, had loomed large in the diary. It felt fraught with danger when government sources suggested the deal was in danger of collapsing because of fears that Abramovich wanted to renege on his promise to write off his £1.6bn loan to the club. The wildest scenarios had Chelsea going bust if they missed the sale deadline and, given all the twists and turns over the past three months, it was not always easy to be entirely confident that the story was going to end with Boehly’s group promising to give Thomas Tuchel significant funds to rebuild his squad.

Continue reading…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Tributes paid to veteran Northern Ireland journalist Stephen Grimason

BBC reporter who covered darkest days of the Troubles and broke news…

NHS England chair faces demands to explain role in Greensill lobbying

Calls for clarity about Lord Prior’s involvement with Greensill as former PM…

Captain Tom’s family lose appeal against demolition of spa complex

Planning Inspectorate says ‘Captain Tom Building’ harms Grade II-listed home where Moore’s…