Egyptian businessman and Chelsea season ticket holder Loutfy Mansour is not ‘pursuing a bid’ to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich announced that he has put the club up for sale on Wednesday, with the Russian oligarch said to have set a £3billion asking price while also writing off the £1.5billion debt the club owe him.
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Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss claimed earlier this week that he has been approached to buy the club as part of a consortium which includes LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly, who has previously shown interest in buying the west London club.
And a report on Friday claimed the ‘team is complete’ and they are confident of making progress to buy the west London club over the weekend.
It had been suggested there would be competition from at least two other parties, one of which was thought to be Mansour, but a spokesperson for the billionaire has now ruled him out.
The spokesperson told The Guardian: “In light of the recent media speculation, we want to make it clear that we are not pursuing a bid for Chelsea Football Club at this time.”
Meanwhile, journalist Nicola Imfeld has provided additional details on why Wyss holds an interest in buying Chelsea from Abramovich.
The journalist claimed Wyss is ‘driven by’ scorn for Abramovich and warned that he’s not someone who will ‘open his wallet’ in the same way as his predecessor.
“Mr. Wyss is a true westerner by heart. If it would be on him, neutral Switzerland would position itself even more clear in the political West. I think that plays a real role here. Wyss is driven by ideology,” Imfeld said.
“He sees Russian oligarch Abramovich with apparent contacts to Putin, who is currently waging a war in Ukraine. Having the chance now to rid Chelsea of such a person, for whom Wyss doesn’t have much respect, drives him.
“What does this mean for Chelsea? Wyss is in this aspect a typical Swiss. Cautious, humble, acting with prudence. He won’t see Chelsea as his toy & open his wallet. It’s certainly not in the identity of Wyss to ‘buy’ the Champions League. Keep in mind though that it’s not him alone bidding for Chelsea.”
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