EPL: Shortlisted Chelsea bidders to make cash purchase as Abramovich sorts debt

All four shortlisted bids to buy Chelsea Football Club will be entirely funded by cash, the PA news agency reports.

Steve Pagliuca’s bid for Chelsea will match the other three competing offers in having no debt.

The four shortlisted consortiums must submit their final offers on Thursday to an American investment bank, Raine Group.

Raine will then choose a preferred bidder, with Chelsea’s sale still expected to be completed next month.

The Blues’ sales could yet reach a sports franchise record of 3 billion pounds (3.94 billion dollars).

Pagliuca confirmed the make-up of his consortium on Wednesday, with NBA chairman, Larry Tanenbaum, as co-managing partner.

Recall that Russian-Israeli billionaire, Roman Abramovich, had announced that he had put Chelsea up for sale, claiming that the decision was in Chelsea’s ‘best interest’.

Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government over his links with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Raine Group was tasked with handling the West London club sale.

Chelsea has been given a special government licence to continue operating, though under strict conditions.

Abramovich cannot profit from Chelsea’s sale but had already promised to write off the club’s 1.5 billion pounds debt.

Raine’s preferred bidder will have to pass Premier League owners’ and directors’ tests, with the final step the granting of a new government licence to process the sale.