American billionaire Todd Boehly is hoping to sign the first official contract of his bid to complete a takeover of Chelsea on Friday. His consortium bid has been selected as the preferred option by the Blues and Raine with Roman Abramovich now seeking government approval for the takeover.
The process to find the Russian's successor has become far more confusing and drawn out than many will have hoped. The arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe to the race, promising a £4bn investment, threw the previous weeks of work by the other three candidates into doubt.
Steve Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton saw their bids pass the first stage alongside Boehly's and how Ratcliffe's bid would be welcomed was a cause for doubt. But it now appears that Boehly's position as preferred bidder has remained unchanged.
READ MORE: Chelsea sale: What Roman Abramovich's statement means now for Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital
According to a report from The Telegraph, the LA Dodgers minority owner is now looking to sign his first contract to make the agreement official. Abramovich, meanwhile, is set to forward the offer onto the government to be approved before the deal is confirmed.
The Premier League have already carried out necessary background checks by Boehly and his co-investors, Clearlake Capital, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and Jonathan Goldstein.
The process reportedly hit a snag earlier this month after Abramovich reportedly objected to a £1.6bn loan he gave to club also being frozen. But he has since denied this in a statement, and a signed purchase agreement is set to be sent to Boehly on Friday.
A spokesperson for Abramovich said this week that he "has not asked for any loan to be repaid to him – such suggestions are entirely false – as are suggestions that Mr Abramovich increased the price of the club last minute."
The government sanctions were imposed on the Oligarch at the start of March after he was adjudged to have kept a close relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin for decades, something Abramovich has always denied. Nevertheless, his assets were frozen and his intentions to sell the club only complicated further.
