New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly was allowed to hold off £100million in the purchase of the club as insurance in case "unforeseen liabilities" arose from the Roman Abramovich era.
Chelsea are confident that no financial fair play rules have been broken, but the £100million was held back in case any other "unforeseen liabilities" from the Roman Abramovich era were inherited. In a statement to the Times, a Chelsea spokesman said: "It is not unusual in these types of transactions, particularly deals completed in an accelerated time frame, to withhold an amount related to any unforeseen liabilities that may arise from transactions that occurred prior to the sale."
If no liabilities arise then that £100million is then paid to the seller, in this case into the charitable foundation with the rest of the purchase price. This comes after the American finally confirmed the deal to own the club just a few weeks ago. The ownership saga lasted three months for the Blues, starting with Abramovich’s desire to sell the club in March.
The 55-year-old was then sanctioned by the UK Government shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, putting a freeze on all of his assets in the nation. While the club was one of these assets, a special sporting licence was issued that allowed them to operate under specific restrictions.
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US Banking firm Raine were left in charge of overseeing the bidding process, eventually deciding that Boehly’s offer was the preferred option. The American was joined by majority stakeholder Clearlake Capital in an offer worth roughly £4.25billion.
While issues appeared to hold the deal up, it finally crossed the line and the Blues could operate closer to normal under the new regime. However, as per the Telegraph report, there are concerns surrounding a financial investigation.
That’s due to last minute announcements of liabilities owed under the previous regime, with concerns that the Premier League and UEFA could be alerted. This is due to checks into taxes owed through the funding received by Abramovich, prompting potentially huge debts that were not otherwise disclosed beforehand.
The £100million held back is a contingency, should any issues arise during full completion of the sale process.
