Chelsea needs saving
Formula One superstar Sir Lewis Hamilton is joined by tennis ace Serena Williams in a bid to buy Chelsea Football Club, according to media reports.The two international sportspeople are said to be joining the takeover bid by Sir Martin Broughton, one of three remaining bids for the Blues.
The seven-time racing champion and the former number one women's tennis player are said to have pledged £10 million each to the bid headed by Broughton.
However, it is questionable whether this is just a public relations power move. I really hope that it is not because Chelsea needs saving. The club needs to be sold before the start of the next season or it will not be able to continue as normal.
The club needs to draw up plans for a sale that does not benefit Roman Abramovich or it will not be able to play as normal next season.
The club has been granted a licence, which expires on 31 May, to operate in the short term. This is designed to ensure that Chelsea doesn’t collapse immediately as a result of being unable to take part in economic transactions.
Hamilton and Williams might just be what the club needs. They have been advocates in their respective sports and beyond in promoting sports and thus also lending their names to numerous positive initiatives.
In the past few years, both Hamilton and Williams have been known to dabble in investment. But it should not be understated that Hamilton and Williams are serious business operators in their own right as they approach the final years of record-breaking careers on the track and court.
Hamilton’s interests extend from investing in tech startups to opening a chain of vegan restaurants. The seven-time Formula 1 champion, 37, has a property portfolio that spans London, Monte Carlo and a number of US locations and, according to the most recent Sunday Times Rich List, is valued at £260 million.
Williams, meanwhile, already part-owns a football club - the recently established Angel City in Los Angeles - as part of a star-studded group featuring Eva Longoria and Natalie Portman. In 2009 she purchased a stake in the NFL's Miami Dolphins along with her sister Venus, the pair becoming the first black owners of an NFL franchise.
So perhaps this is just what Chelsea needs at the moment to protect the future of players and the diehard fans. The players, even though uncertain about their future, have been doing really well on the log. They are in third position with 62 points. This is very admirable from this group of players.
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