A London-based investment firm confirmed it has submitted an offer to buy Premier League club Chelsea. The club has been put up for sale by its billionaire owner Roman Abramovich after he was the subject of sanctions by the UK government for his alleged ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin and the country's invasion of Ukraine. The European and world club champions <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/03/10/uk-imposes-sanctions-on-russians-including-chelsea-owner-roman-abramovich/">continue to operate under special, stringent conditions</a> after the British government claimed to have proven Abramovich’s links to Putin. The deadline for any bids to be submitted for the Premier League side came and went on Friday evening, with a number of parties understood to be contenders for a takeover. In a statement released Monday, Centricus said it saw an opportunity to "make a long-term investment" in Chelsea and that it was "committed to supporting existing management on both the business and sporting operations". According to <i>The Times</i> newspaper, Centricus has joined forces with hedge-fund manager Jonathan Lourie and Bob Finch as well as a prominent group of Chelsea supporters in attempting to seal a deal. In quotes reported by the newspaper, Centricus chief executive Nizar Al Bassam spoke of his affection for the club he claimed was "bleeding money at a faster rate than it should be" <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/2022/03/15/roman-abramovich-what-do-the-sanctions-mean-for-chelsea-fc/" target="_blank">after Abramovich had his UK assets frozen</a>, leaving the club in limbo. “I’ve had the same seats in the Tambling suite and the same seats in the West Stand for 10 years," Al Bassam was quoted as saying. "I’m worried for the staff there when I see this turmoil. We see the same people hosting us when we walk in. They’re amazing to us. We see the same people in the stands looking after us and I’m feeling for them. “We’ve tried to focus on a proposal which aligns the ownership of the club with long-term investors with a deep history with the club. If you look at the proposal we put forward, keeping it an entirely British finance proposal is core to that. “There are plenty of very successful clubs financed by international investors but in this case, after two decades of exceptional success by the club, the club has the fanbase with the resources to support the club to maintain that success. That’s what’s very unique about this proposal.” There are already a number of known bids for the West London club. Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and American businessman Todd Boehly lead a consortium, while property developer and lifelong Blues fan Nick Candy said last week he was part of a group that had bid more than <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2022/03/15/nick-candy-says-funding-and-consortium-in-place-to-launch-takeover-bid-for-chelsea/">£2 billion ($2.6bn) f</a>or the club. <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2022/03/16/tom-ricketts-and-family-confident-of-success-in-chelsea-buyout/" target="_blank">Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts</a> and his family have also confirmed their bid to purchase the club.. While their is considerable consternation off the pitch, Chelsea continue to flourish on it. On Friday the Blues secured a place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2022/03/19/romelu-lukaku-strikes-to-help-chelsea-into-fa-cup-semi-finals/" target="_blank">2-0 win over second-tier Middlesbrough</a> hours after learning they will face Spanish giants <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2022/03/18/champions-league-draw-manchester-city-to-face-atletico-chelsea-meet-real-madrid/" target="_blank">Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League</a>. Thomas Tuchel's side are currently third in the Premier League but do not play again until after the international break.
