About 200 potential buyers expressed interest in Chelsea

Friday is the deadline for submitting applications for the purchase of the English Premier League club Chelsea, owned by Roman Abramovich. Among the applicants are about 200 potential buyers, Business Insider reports with reference to the British media.

Abramovich put the club up for sale shortly after Russia launched a sting operation in Ukraine and shortly before the US, EU and UK imposed sanctions on him. Evraz's co-owner reportedly does not intend to delay the sale, but it is not yet clear what will happen to the money received from it, since Abramovich's assets in the UK are frozen.

Bidders interested in buying have until Friday to submit their offers to the Raine Group, the US bank appointed to oversee the sale. Despite the huge number of interested parties, only a few are considered serious contenders. These include Swiss billionaire and environmental philanthropist Hansjerg Wyss; American businessman Todd Beley, CEO of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball club; the American Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs basketball club; one of the largest UK developers specializing in luxury real estate, Nick Candy; U.S. Ambassador to the UK and owner of the New York Jets American football team, Woody Johnson. The statements made about the purchase by MMA fighter Conor McGregor, as well as Ghanaian gold miner Bernard Antwi Boasiako, who promised to arrange transfers for Messi and Ronaldo, are not taken seriously by experts: their fortunes are much less than the $ 3 billion that Abramovich hopes to bail out ..

According to experts from the Raine Group, the deal could be completed by the end of March. Now, due to sanctions against the owner, the club is also in limbo: it can neither earn nor spend money. Chelsea are banned from selling tickets and club-branded merchandise, and spending by players on travel and matchday expenses is limited.