Conor McGregor has claimed he is interested in buying Chelsea after Roman Abramovich put the London club up for sale.
McGregor, who is worth around €170 million and was named the wealthiest sportsman of 2021 by Forbes, expressed his interest in buying the club on social media yesterday.
He tweeted: “I wish to explore this @ChelseaFC”, accompanied by a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation which showed him saying: “Chelsea for sale £3bn, let’s buy it”.
But football fans don't believe McGregor will be buying the club as he quite simply could not afford it.
One tweeted: "Did anyone google his net worth after reading this. I did. He won’t be buying Chelsea."
Another said: "30 odd % of Sunderland is for sale for for 11 million. That is more realistic for you."
Someone else commented: "Conor bro, you gotta start about 30 more successful whiskey businesses before you have that kinda money."
Abramovich said on Wednesday that he agreed to sell Chelsea and give the “net proceeds” to “all victims of the war in Ukraine”.
In a statement, the Russian billionaire said: “In the current situation, I have taken the decision to sell the club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club’s sponsors and partners.”
It comes after Abramovich attempted to step back from the daily running of Chelsea on Saturday in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Blues owner tried to hand the “stewardship and care” of Chelsea to the club’s charitable foundation trustees.
That led the Charity Commission to contact the Stamford Bridge club for more detail on Abramovich’s plans, after several of the trustees raised concerns over technicalities.
The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland said the proposal posed “considerable risk” to Chelsea’s charitable foundation.
Abrahmovich said that money from the sale of the club will be given to a foundation set up to benefit the victims of the war in Ukraine.
He said: “The sale of the club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process.
“I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid. This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and club. Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated.
“The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.
“Please know that this has been an incredibly difficult decision to make, and it pains me to part with the club in this manner. However, I do believe this is in the best interest of the club.”
Abramovich is understood to have attempted to hand control of Chelsea to the foundation trustees in a bid to protect the club.
The Chelsea owner would not receive any protection from sanctions through stepping away from daily control at Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich’s spokesperson previously said that the Russian-Israeli businessman was attempting to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Another figure thought to be interested in buying Chelsea include Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss.
The EU last week agreed further restrictions on Russian oligarchs, including so-called golden passports that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of EU countries.
Brussels put the London-based billionaire Mikhail Fridman, his business partner Petr Aven and the financier Alisher Usmanov — who has connections with Everton football club — on its latest list of people considered to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The sanctions will freeze any assets the men have in EU countries and ban them from travelling in the bloc.
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