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Global sports icons Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton have reportedly pledged £10 million ($13.1 million) each to a prospective bid to buy Premier League side Chelsea, according to Sky Sports.
The duo joins a bid reportedly worth more than £200 million headed by Martin Broughton, a British businessman and former Liverpool chairman. Other partners in the bid include World Athletics president Sebastian Coe along with Josh Harris and David Blitzer, members of the ownership groups for the Philadelphia 76ers and Crystal Palace.
If the bid is selected, it wouldn’t be Williams’s first foray into the world of soccer. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is an investor in NWSL side Angel City FC, which is in its inaugural season.
A spokesperson for Hamilton, who is a seven-time Formula One champion, confirmed his involvement in the bid to The Guardian.
Opposing bidders include Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and Boston Celtics part-owner Steve Pagliuca. Meanwhile, the Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs, recently withdrew its bid after backlash from Chelsea fans.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale last month following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The British government later sanctioned the oligarch and froze his assets, including Chelsea. The sanctions also gave the government oversight of the sale, which is being managed by U.S. investment bank Raine Group.
