Chelsea sale: Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams join Sir Martin Broughton’s bid to buy club
Sir Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams join Sir Martin Broughton’s £2.5bn bid to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich and pledge £10m each – with the F1 driver taking up a formal ‘anti-discrimination’ role at the club
- Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams are set to invest £10m each into the deal
- Martin Broughton, a lifelong Chelsea fan, is spearheading the bid to buy the club
- Hamilton has spoken openly about his support for Chelsea’s rivals, Arsenal
- Williams owns a stake in Los Angeles based women’s football team Angel City
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Serena Williams and Sir Lewis Hamilton are reportedly backing Sir Martin Broughton’s bid to buy Chelsea, with the stars prepared to invest in buying the Stamford Bridge club.
According to Sky News, the seven-time Formula One champion and the 23-time Grand Slam winner are ready to pledge £10million each to the deal. Chelsea is expected to be sold for around £2.5bn.
A spokesperson for Hamilton said: ‘We can confirm that Lewis has joined the Sir Martin Broughton bid, however the financial figure reported in the Sky article isn’t accurate.’
Broughton, the former chairman of British Airways and Liverpool FC, has apparently been in talks with the duo for weeks.
Hamilton has previously spoken of how he supports Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal and has been a fan since he was five years old.
Sky News also claim that Hamilton would ‘play a formal role in Chelsea’s future efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion’ if Broughton’s bid ends up being successful.
Chelsea, the current Champions League holders, have been up for sale since March – shortly before Russian owner Roman Abramovich was hit by sanctions from the government due to his ties to Russia president Vladimir Putin.
Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams are prepared to pledge £10million to Sir Martin Broughton’s bid to buy Chelsea
Hamilton, a seven-time F1 champion, has been open in the past about supporting Arsenal
Williams, meanwhile, is a part owner of Los Angeles-based women’s team Angel City
Raine Group, the bank who are overseeing the Chelsea sale, could pitch their preferred bidder to the government as soon as this week.
Broughton, who is spearheading the bid, is a lifelong Chelsea supporter and has a wide range of investors to raise funds.
Hamilton, 37, has spoken openly of his Arsenal fandom on several occasions. In 2018, when legendary coach Arsene Wenger announced he was going to leave the club, Hamilton said in an interview with Sky Sports: ‘I’ve had the privilege of meeting him a couple of times.
‘He asked me to go and train with the team, which I have not managed to do yet, but he was always really welcoming and it was cool to meet ‘our team’s’ boss. I’ve supported Arsenal since I was five.’
And in 2020, he revealed how his friends keep him up to date with Arsenal’s fortunes if he can’t watch a game due to his racing schedule.
‘I have been watching Arsenal play for a long time, being with them through the highs and lows. If I can’t keep up with the game, then my best friend will call me every day, to give me all the updates,’ he said.
Chelsea and Arsenal played each other in the Premier League on Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge, with Arsenal winning 4-2. It was the first Chelsea game where only season ticket holders and away fans were allowed into Stamford Bridge as part of the sanctions placed on Abramovich.
The 40-year-old Williams, meanwhile, is a part-owner of Los Angeles based women’s team Angel City who will play their first match this year.
‘I think that’s really cool for athletes to own something. It’s interesting, because you have a different type of pride when you’re there and you’re playing for something that you own,’ Williams said of her involvement in an Instagram live session with actress Natalie Portman, who is also a part owner of Angel City.
‘It’s not really done in tennis, so it’s really interesting to have an opportunity to do that in a different sport. It would be a wonderful feeling to have that. You want to play better, to play harder – not only are you playing me, you’re playing me in my stadium.’
Sir Martin Broughton is fronting the bid involving Williams and Hamilton to buy Chelsea
Steve Pagliuca (left) and NBA chairman Larry Tanenbaum (right) have committed to a lifetime ownership of Chelsea if they win the right to buy the club
Raine Group, the bank overseeing the Chelsea sale, could recommend their preferred bidder by the end of the week to the government
Steve Pagliuca, the owner of NBA team Boston Celtics, is leading a rival bid to buy Chelsea and also owns a stake in Italian Serie A team Atalanta.
He has partnered up with Larry Tanenbaum, who backs the Toronto Maple Leafs, and have committed to ‘lifetime ownership’ of Chelsea if their joint bid to buy the club is successful.
The other bid in the running is fronted by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.
