Josh Harris, a US billionaire and former senior manager at Apollo Global Management, has submitted a bid to buy Chelsea, according to reports in the US and UK, after Roman Abramovich announced last week that he was putting the club up for sale and waiving a debt of 1.5 billion The pound he deserves, when he pledges that the proceeds of the deal will go to the victims of the war in Ukraine.
His move to sell the club came days after Britain imposed sanctions on several oligarchs linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sir Cair Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor Party in Britain, called on the government of Boris Johnson to impose sanctions on Abramovich as well and a few days later he announced that after 19 years he was leaving the Blues.
Harris owns the Philadelphia Sicers basketball team in the NBA and the New Jersey Devils hockey team.
He also holds a percentage of Crystal Palace, and in order to take over at Chelsea he will have to give them up as both teams play in the Premier League.
The preferred buyers for Abramovich will be either a person from Europe or an American billionaire and not a person related to the country, the reports said.
This will differentiate it from Newcastle, owned by an investment group from Saudi Arabia, and Manchester City, which is controlled by the royal family in Abu Dhabi.
Abramovich has instructed his adviser Joe Ravic to contact wealthy people interested in taking over Chelsea.
The club's sale will be one of the Premier League's highest sales in years.
The sale of Chelsea is still in its early stages and bids are expected to be made in mid-March, according to two people close to the club.
It is estimated that if there is a contract signing, the transfer of ownership should take at least six weeks, with the deal valued at over £ 3 billion.
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