Dangote, McGregor and other potential buyers of Abramovich’s Chelsea for 1.3 TRILLION NAIRA

Roman Abramovich has announced his intention to sell Chelsea Football Club because of pressure mounting due to his alleged involvement with Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

The Russian billionaire stated he is willing to forgo the debt owed to him by the club, reportedly in excess of £1.5 billion which makes it an attractive prospect to potential buyers.

Many of these potential buys have already publicly declared interest while others have been quietly mooted and linked.

If Roman Abramovich does sell Chelsea Football Club, it would most likely be to one (or more) of the following people in descending order of likelihood.

UFC superstar Conor McGregor shared a tweet that indicated his interest in buying Chelsea on Wednesday and although he was the highest-earning athlete for 2021, it is unlikely that this will happen.

McGregor definitely cannot buy Chelsea on his own because he simply cannot afford it, his estimated $150 million net worth pales in comparison to the reported £3 billion asking price.

The likely possibility is that McGregor will buy Chelsea as part of a consortium but even that is a long shot. The lifelong Manchester United fan did seem serious about it so maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve that we do not know about.

Africa’s richest man with an estimated net worth of over $14 billion has been linked with the purchase of Chelsea and unlike McGregor, he can actually afford it.

The obstacle here is in the interest, Aliko Dangote has not shown any willingness or desire to buy Chelsea and is a long term admirer of their biggest rivals, Arsenal.

Dangote had tried and failed to buy Arsenal in the past and hinted that he would be ready to make a move around this period.

”It is a team that yes I would like to buy someday, but what I keep saying is we have $20billion worth of projects and that's what I really want to concentrate on. I'm trying to finish building the company and then after we finish, maybe sometime in 2021 we can.” Dangote said speaking about Arsenal in 2020.

But with Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke unwilling to sell, Dangote may just be forced to divert his attention to Chelsea.

Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reported to be a season ticket holder at Chelsea despite being a lifelong Manchester United fan.

The 69-year old has also shown interest in buying Chelsea in the past and his company, Ineos which is run by his brother, Bob currently owns French club OGC Nice.

Bob Ratcliffe appeared to rule out anything happening at the moment "I think the foreseeable future it is off the radar. We have a three to five-year project in Nice and that will keep us busy.

"There was some early exchange [with Chelsea] but we were a significant way apart on valuations,” Ratcliffe said.

The Telegraph reports that Egyptian billionaire Loutfy Mansour is also interested in bidding for Chelsea. Along with his father, Mohamed, the Mansours own Mansour Group, a massive global conglomerate of Egyptian origin that reportedly earns $6b in annual revenues, and Loutfy is the head of its investment arm, Man Capital. 

It is also important to note that he’s reportedly also a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge and has experience in sports investments.

86-year Swiss billionaire, Hansjorg Wyss claimed in an interview that he was offered the chance to buy Chelsea by Roman Abramovich even before he publicly announced he was selling the club.

Wyss said three days ago, "I have to wait four to five days now. Abramovich is currently asking far too much. You know, Chelsea owe him £2billion [it is £1.5billion]. But Chelsea has no money. That means: those who buy Chelsea should compensate Abramovich.

But now that Abramovich has announced that he is willing to forgo the loan, it could make for easier negotiations between himself and Wyss.

"As of today, we don't know the exact selling price. I can well imagine starting at Chelsea with partners. But I have to examine the general conditions first. But what I can already say: I'm definitely not doing something like this alone. If I buy Chelsea, then with a consortium consisting of six to seven investors." Wyss added.