Todd Boehly is one of the American businessmen in talks with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss about forming a consortium to purchase Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
Wyss, speaking to Blick, said that he is forming a consortium with three American businessmen but remains unsure of the exact asking price as Abramovich seeks to end his 19 years in charge of the club.
And Boehly is one of the individuals who have been in contact with the 86-year-old philanthropist about partnering for a deal.
Boehly, the founder and CEO of investment firm Eldridge Industries, owns stakes in the baseball club LA Dodgers and the basketball franchise LA Lakers and had a takeover bid rejected by Abramovich in 2019.
Reports at the time said he was willing to pay $3billion (£2.25billion) to purchase the West London club, which is significantly more than what Abramovich would likely deem acceptable now.
He has previously been linked with a takeover of Tottenham Hotspur and has placed on record his desire to own a Premier League team.
Wyss, who lives in the United States, and Boehly have previously done business together through Eldridge.
Abramovich has invested more than £1.5billion into the running of Chelsea since buying the club from Ken Bates in 2003. Wyss believes the Russian would like £2billion for the club but claimed he is in a hurry to sell, which could mean a cheaper deal is done.
Earlier on Wednesday the pressure on the UK government to seize the assets of Abramovich ramped up further after Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, asked prime minister Boris Johnson "why on earth" the oligarch is yet to be included in the list of Russian businessmen facing sanctions following Russia invasion of Ukraine.
At the beginning of their weekly question session in parliament, Starmer said: “Roman Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea Football Club and various other high value assets in the United Kingdom.
"He is a person of interest to the Home Office because of his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices.
"Last week the prime minister said that Abramovich is facing sanctions and later corrected the record to say he isn't. Why on earth isn't he?"
In reply Johnson said: “It is not appropriate for me to comment on specific cases at this stage" but "the vice is tightening [on people associated with Vladimir Putin] and it will continue to tighten."
Abramovich vehemently denies any direct links to Russian president Putin but last weekend’s decision to step back from decision-making was made to protect the club's reputation because of an increased focus on the businessman after Russia launched an invasion that has been condemned by almost the entire world.
Now the club is up for sale and, as indicated by Wyss, there is an expectation that progress will be swift.
