MMA fighter Conor McGregor has revealed he his interested in buying Chelsea FC from Roman Abramovich. Abramovich recently confirmed that he has put the club on sale amidst huge pressure. The pressure has mounted since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Abramovich’s ties to the Russian President. Roman Abramovich is one of the oligarchs of Russian President Vladimir Putin and thus could face heavy sanctions. MPs from UK have sternly made it clear that Abramovich shouldn’t be allowed to own a football club in the country. As a result, before things take a worse turn, Abramovich has decided to sell the club.
Many of the investors have registered their interest in buying Chelsea, with Conor McGregor latest addition in the list. Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss also made his interest known in taking-over Chelsea and has shared his plans. Abramovich took-over Chelsea in 2003, and has since invested a massive $2 billion in the club. Last week the Russian announced in an official statement that he his distancing himself with the club’s day-to-day working. He further stated that the trustees of the the club’s Charitable Foundation will now see-off the responsibility. But things didn’t work well and the club is now up for sale.
Conor McGregor shows interest in buying Chelsea
McGregor has long been a football fan and has now expressed his “wish” to own Chelsea. Though Conor McGregor in a Manchester united fan, he took it to Twitter to announce his interest in buying United’s rival club Chelsea. “I wish to explore this,” Conor McGregor wrote in a tweet tagging Chelsea’s official twitter handle, with a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation. In the conversation, McGregor was told that Chelsea will be put up for sale for £3 billion [$4 billion].
The UFC star was the world’s highest paid athlete in 2021 according to Forbes’ survey. However, he fells quite short of the mentioned asking price of Chelsea of $4 billion. Conor McGregor would have to achieve his dream of owning Chelsea along with other investors, as part of a consortium. Such is the plan of Hansjorg Wyss. Wyss revealed, “As of today, we don’t know the exact selling price. I can well imagine starting at Chelsea with partners. But I have to examine the general conditions first. But what I can already say: I’m definitely not doing something like this alone. If I buy Chelsea, then with a consortium consisting of six to seven investors.”
As it is evident, Wyss is also looking to take-over Chelsea with a team of investors. Conor McGregor would have to consider something alike if he seriously aspires to invest in Chelsea. However, McGregor won’t be a first from outside of the footballing world to own stakes at a football club if he manages to pull this off. NBA’s LeBron James became a partial owner of Liverpool FC after investing in Fenway Sports Group who own the club. Steve Nash, the coach of Brooklyn Nets also owns a stake in Spanish club RCD Mallocra and is one of the members of the board of directors of the club
