Lewis Hamilton declares his interest in helping to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich
Lewis Hamilton awkwardly talks up his love of ‘playing football on the streets’ as a reason behind his interest in being part of a bid to buy Chelsea… as he claims he was bullied into supporting Arsenal by his sister!
- The two sporting superstars have joined the bid fronted by Sir Martin Broughton
- Lewis Hamilton says the values presented by the consortium align with his
- The F1 star says he has a connection to the club through his uncle Terry
- Chelsea being ‘one of’ the biggest clubs in the world makes it appealing, he says
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Sir Lewis Hamilton has publicly declared being part of a consortium that is bidding to buy Chelsea off sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
The consortium, fronted by Sir Martin Broughton, is majority funded by Philadelphia 76ers co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer who would be forced to sell their stake in Crystal Palace should their bid succeed.
Hamilton and Serena Williams have both pledged around £10m each to the £2.5bn bid – an inconsequential amount of money in the grand scheme of things but it has been reported that Broughton’s team hope their added publicity will get their bid over the line.
Lewis Hamilton has publicly declared his part in the consortium bidding to buy the club
Hamilton, who has spoken of playing football as a child and choosing to support Arsenal over his uncle Terry’s Chelsea due to pressure from his sister, has said what an opportunity this would present.
He said: ‘I’ve been a football fan since I was a kid, played since I was a kid, from four to 17 in teams every year.’
‘I played every year through childhood and went to numerous games, when I was young. I used to play football as a kid around the corner and I really wanted to fit in. I was the only kid of colour there,’ he added.
Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams are prepared to pledge £10million to Sir Martin Broughton’s bid to buy Chelsea
Sir Martin Broughton would become the chairman should his consortium’s bid succeed
‘All the kids supported someone different and I switched between these teams and when I’d get home my sister would hit me, saying you have to support Arsenal.
‘At five, six years old I supported Arsenal but my uncle Terry is a big Blues fan, so I’ve been to so many games to watch Chelsea and Arsenal play.’
He added: ‘When I heard about this I thought, “Wow”. What a great opportunity to be a part of.’
Hamilton and Williams are known to be good friends with the tennis star having been a guest of the Englishman at various Formula One Grand Prixs down the years.
The seven-time Formula One champion has spoken about how their involvement with the bid came about.
Serena Williams has declared £10m to the bid alongside her friend Lewis Hamilton
‘We did speak about it, we were constantly in touch,’ he said.
‘She asked me my thoughts and I told her I’ll be a part of it, and she decided to join.
‘We were contacted and Sir Martin spoke to me on the phone, explaining his and his team’s goals if they were to win the bid – which was incredibly exciting and very much aligned with my values.’
Hamilton went on to add how his career could have followed a very different path, having trialled for his local side Stevenage Borough before opting for racing.
‘When I was younger I was trying to be the best player I could be and play for a team. I tried out for Stevenage Borough when I was younger but I ended up following the racing side,’ he said.
Joshua Harris (left) and David Blitzer (right) are providing most of the financial backing
‘I could have only dreamed of being an integral part of a team so for me that is the most exciting thing.’
Hamilton, who has grown to be one of sport’s most prominent campaigners on diversity and race in recent years, said one of the aims of the consortium was to ‘continue’ some of the work done by the previous regime and grow the ‘impact and engagement in the community’ even further.
‘Our goal is to continue some of the work they have already done and have even more of an impact and engage with the community,’ he said.
Hamilton, a seven-time F1 champion, has been open in the past about supporting Arsenal
Meanwhile, he was pressed on what his £10m investment might bring him – particularly in the context of Chelsea’s £145.6m loss after tax in recent financial results.
‘Naturally, it is never the idea of an investment to lose money but firstly it is to be a part of something, to manage this team moving forward and improve the financial situation and slowly decrease those losses and turn it into a profit-making organisation,’ he said.
He added: ‘That is going to take a lot of work and there are lots of moving parts. I don’t have the strategy for that at the moment.
‘We have not won the bid so I am sure that will all come afterwards. But the consortium is a consortium of lifetime Chelsea fans and others that have come later to it like myself.’
