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Premier League approves group seeking to buy Chelsea

London, May 24 (EFE).- The Premier League gave its seal of approval Tuesday to the consortium that agreed to pay 4.25 billion pounds ($5.33 billion) for Chelsea Football Club.

The bid from a group led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly was accepted earlier this month by the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, which has been running the club for the last three months.

Boehly and his associates – Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., Hansjorg Wyss, and Mark Walter – satisfied the requirements of the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test, the league said in a statement.

“Chelsea FC will now work with the relevant governments to secure the necessary licenses to complete the takeover,” the Premier League said.

The transaction remains subject to approval from the British government because the current club owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, saw his assets in the United Kingdom frozen weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Since then, Chelsea has operated under a special license that has had a negative impact on revenue and prevented the club from signing new players or even renewing existing contracts.

The special license expires May 31.

Abramovich, 55, put Chelsea up for sale before the UK imposed the sanctions and said that he would not seek repayment of the more than 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) he loaned the Blues since buying the London club for 100 million pounds back in 2003.

He also pledged that the proceeds from the sale would go to benefit victims of the war in Ukraine.

On May 2, responding to media accounts citing unnamed sources who accused Abramovich of demanding repayment of the loans and trying to increase the sale price, the owner said through a spokesperson that “such suggestions are entirely false.”

The spokesperson likewise pointed out that under UK and European Union sanctions, Abramovich would not have “any access or control” to funds following the sale of the club.

Abramovich’s money transformed Chelsea from a competitive team to a dominant force that won five Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, and five FA Cups in the last 19 years. EFE msg/dr

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