If bidder Todd Boehly succeeds in completing a buyout, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia will be given the chance to continue at the club. It comes after Boehly’s consortium was designated the preferred bidder last week.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The ownership crisis is approaching its third month, after the UK Government’s sanctions against owner Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The club was placed under a special sporting licence, which expires at the end of this month, while his assets were frozen.
This has only served to emphasize the importance of the buyout, which is being handled by Raine, a US banking business. The final three bidders were narrowed down to Boehly’s group, which was just chosen as the preferred bidder.
There are concerns that the process would be slowed further by allegations that Abramovich wants his £1.6 billion loans returned, although the bids are claimed to have passed the owners’ and directors’ test. With the club expected to undergo significant changes under potential new ownership, there may be some adjustments off the field as well as on it.
Todd Boehly has given chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia the option to stay at the club if his acquisition is successful, according to the Financial Times. According to the article, the offer would keep the hierarchy mostly intact from previous years, though both are free to leave if they do not choose to stay.
Buck, 76, has been the club’s chairman since 2004, after advising Abramovich on the possibility of buying the team the year before. Since 1997, Granovskaia, 47, has been related to the Russian owner through his energy firm Sibneft, which is now known as Gazprom.
After the Blues were purchased, she relocated to London and joined the board of directors. In 2013, she was promoted to director, receiving the Best Club Director in European Football award for the previous season.
While both might continue on, the Financial Times reports that some MPs are “uneasy” about the Abramovich regime’s survival. In a takeover drama that continues to take twists and turns, whether they stay at the club remains to be seen.
