Sir Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams have joined forces with Sir Martin Broughton in his bid to buy Chelsea.
The sporting legends are believed to have committed a combined £20million to the consortium, who are vying with Todd Boehly and Steve Pagliuca to buy out Roman Abramovich.
Broughton - the former chairman of British Airways and Liverpool - already has the backing of Sebastian Coe.
He has not revealed the make-up of his global consortium, but Josh Harris and David Blitzer are widely-known to be major backers.
The duo already have a significant stake in Crystal Palace, which they would have to divest if Broughton is successful.
The inclusion of seven-time Formula One champion Hamilton and 23-time grand slam winner Williams comes as a surprise, but represents the diversity of Broughton’s bid.
The deadline for official offers was last week, with bidders waiting to hear if they will be put forward by US merchant bank Raine to the Treasury to complete the sale of Chelsea.
That could come as early as the end of this week or next.
