Chelsea are edging closer to finding out who their new owners will be.
With Roman Abramovich having put the Premier League giants up for sale amid UK sanctions relating to the conflict in Ukraine, the future of the club has hung in the balance for the last few months.
Blues fans have been left wondering what their team, structure and accounts will look like in a post-Abramovich era with a whole number of suitors touted for a takeover at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea close to takeover
However, it finally looks as though Chelsea have been given a level of clarity in their hunt for a new owner thanks to confirmation on Saturday that terms had been agreed for a new ownership group to take over the club.
Led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, the west London club explained that the deal was expected to be completed in late May.
An official statement on the club's website read: "Of the total investment being made, £2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100% to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 7, 2022 General view inside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
"UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.
"In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the Club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the Academy, the Women’s Team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation."
Boehly and his consortium
Now, that's all well and good, but what are Chelsea actually getting themselves in for?
Well, if nothing else, the answer to that is 'plenty of money' because Boehly - who was in attendance for the 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers - isn't exactly short of cash.
And while that might sound like the most obvious statement of all time considering we're talking about buying Chelsea Football Club, we mean that within the context of world football entirely.
That's because The Sun are reporting that Boehly and his consortium would become the sixth-wealthiest owners in the beautiful game if their takeover at Stamford Bridge went through.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 7, 2022 Chelsea new owner Todd Boehly celebrates their second goal scored by Romelu Lukaku Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
With Boehly, Walter and Wyss estimated to have a combined wealth of £10.86 billion, only a select few owners at some of the world's biggest clubs would be able to boast vaster financial resources.
For context, a report in The Sun from March claimed that Abramovich was worth £9 billion, which means that the soon-to-be-owners at Chelsea have more in the bank than their predecessor.
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The richest owners in world football
But how do they shape up when compared to the richest of rich owners in world football? Well, despite their strong sixth-place finish, looking at the full top ten list is something of a sobering experience.
As such, be sure to check out the reported top 10 richest owners in world football with Chelsea's incoming consortium set to keep them firmly amongst the sport's most financially fearsome sides.
10. Guo Guangchang (Wolverhampton Wanderers) - £5.27 billion
Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brighton & Hove Albion - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - April 30, 2022 General view outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
9. Zhang Jindon (Inter Milan) - £6.24 billion
8. Stan Kroenke (Arsenal) - £6.90 billion
7. Philip Anschutz (LA Galaxy) - £8.19 billion
6. Todd Boehly, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss (Chelsea) - £10.86 billion
5. Andrea Agnelli (Juventus) - £14.20 billion
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v AC Milan - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - April 6, 2019 Juventus president Andrea Agnelli REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo
4. Dietrich Mateschitz (RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg) - £16.00 billion
3. Sheikh Mansour (Manchester City) - £22.30 billion
2. Qatar Investment Authority (Paris Saint-Germain) - £223.00 billion
Soccer Football - FA Cup Third Round - Newcastle United v Cambridge United - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - January 8, 2022 Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan with part owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi in the stands Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
A new era for Chelsea
So, while there might not be a direct correlation between owner wealth and investment on the pitch, the moral of the story is that Chelsea will still have plenty of money sloshing about in their boardroom.
The front-running consortium, who have been advised by Goldman Sachs and Robey Warshaw, pack more dollar bills than even the high-rollers at Inter Milan, Liverpool, Manchester United and more.
And frankly, pretty much every billionaire owner would be made to look skint in comparison to the eye-watering fortunes held by the Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain big wigs. Can you lend us a penny?
Soccer Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 7, 2022 Chelsea new owner Todd Boehly celebrates their first goal scored by Romelu Lukaku Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.