Chelsea bidders keep attracting the biggest names in sports.
The latest to pledge their earnings include arguably Tennis’ greatest female player Serena Williams and Formula 1’s GOAT conversation challenger, Lewis Hamilton.
The two titans of their sport have joined Martin Broughton’s bid to buy Chelsea.
Broughton is Liverpool’s former chairman whose consortium includes World Athletics president Sebastian Coe and wealthy investors from around the world, who the group says all wish to maintain Chelsea’s top status in world football.
Included in his bid are also Private equity veterans Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who own sports teams including the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.
The 37-year-old Hamilton holds the all-time Formula One records with seven championships, 103 race wins, 103 poles and 183 podium finishes.
Although a long-standing fan of Arsenal, Hamilton has seized the opportunity to invest in their London rivals.
Representatives for Hamilton said he planned to invest more than £10 million ($13m) in the bid being fronted by Broughton and Coe.
Williams, 40, is widely regarded as the greatest female tennis player of all time with 23 career Grand Slam singles titles to her credit—an Open Era record.
Sher is already an investor in Los Angeles’ Angel City FC, which will make its debut in the National Women’s Soccer League later this month.
Final bids for Chelsea, which was put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich amid sanctions being imposed on the oligarch by the British government after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were submitted earlier this month.
Others on the shortlist to buy the Premier League club are L.A. Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca.
A consortium led by Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family, which was formally opposed by the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, is the only group to have pulled out of the running.
Williams and Hamilton were reportedly approached to join Broughton’s group both because of their success as investors and the fact that they will bring even more diversity into the fold.
