Nick Candy, a season ticket holder at Chelsea, is interested in buying the club despite the sanctions imposed on every asset belonging to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Candy is a devout Chelsea fan and a property developer who is reported to be planning on attending Sunday’s game with Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.
He is one of ten reported individuals who are interested or have been named by various reporters as potential buyers for the club.
Roman Abramovich is suffering the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine War as the United Kingdom has placed sanctions on all of his assets in their country, including two-time Champions League winners and club World Cup champions Chelsea Football Club.
The former governor of the Chukotka region of Russia bought Chelsea in 2003 for 140 million. Since then the club has gone on to be ultra successful, winning every trophy available to European clubs.
In that time, Abramovich has loaned Chelsea £1.3 billion in order to help the West London-based club achieve its goals. However, his close association with Russian president Vladimir Putin has put his footballing empire at risk alongside all of his assets outside Russia.
The United Kingdom, during the week, officially sanctioned Abramovich by freezing his assets and prohibiting him from doing business with individuals from the United Kingdom and businesses domiciled in the country. A travel ban and transport sanctions were also imposed on Abramovic limiting his free movement within the country if he were to visit.
Abramovich put the club up for sale before the sanctions were made as he realised that his association with Chelsea would mean harm for the club who are fast becoming European giants.
Chelsea sale to deny Abramovich of profits due to sanctions
The sanctions placed on Abramovich in the UK means that he will make zero profits from the sale if it were to go through.
In the statement released earlier in the month about Abramovich’s decision to sell Chelsea, the billionaire made it clear that every profit will be directed towards a charity organisation which will be set up to help the victims of the Russian Invasion on Ukraine.
The government seems not to trust these words following the sanctions on the billionaire, however, reports claim that the government and Chelsea are working out ways to fully understand the extent of this sanction.
The asking price for Chelsea was set at £3 billion by Abramovich, with the billionaire’s aim being to sell to someone or a group who will invest in the club in a way that he has done in the 19 years of his ownership.
Nick Candy, the latest interested party in the club, released a statement via his spokesperson after the sanctions were announced on Thursday regarding his interest in acquiring Chelsea from Abramovich.
“We are examining the details of yesterday’s announcement and we are still interested in making a bid,” Candy’s spokesperson said.
“Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty for all Chelsea fans. In our view, no one is the owner of a football club – you are the custodian of it for the fans and the community.”
According to reports, Candy will be bidding for Chelsea alongside the Boehly-Wyss consortium, Muhsin Bayrak, Thomas Ricketts, RedBird Capital Partners and a few others.
