Chelsea legend John Terry and former women’s football star Claire Rafferty are leading a consortium called True Blue, aiming to buy 10% of the club’s shares.
Terry having recently delved into the world of NFTs, the offer promises a high-tech approach, allowing supporters, players and former staff to purchase supporter tokens for over £100 in return for voting rights. .
However, they won’t be able to fund a full deal and will have to fit into a larger deal involving British, American or Saudi billionaires.
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Who is behind True Blue?
Although the True Blue consortium is led by two high-profile former footballers, several other people are behind the bid.
In documents seen by GOAL, one of the figures behind the offer is David Meller, a Chelsea supporter and prominent Tory (Tory) party donor, and his son Jonathan.
Harley Kisberg, founder of iTech Media, and Stanford Loudon, investment banker, are also among the supporters and founding members.
These relationships allowed them to speak with senior club executives before launching their bid.
Mellor, whose wealth comes from his luxury properties and his family beauty products business, could attract some criticism within the group.
He was handed a lucrative £164m PPE contract during the coronavirus pandemic after backing MP Michael Gove’s bid to run the company. Documents claim he benefited from a controversial ‘VIP lane’ which allowed influential people to bypass the usual contracting process.
Additionally, he was the chairman of the President’s Club, a high-profile, men-only charity event that was embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal.
After the scandal MPs lobbied for him to quit a top job in the Department for Education (DfE) following a report by the Financial Times.
Meller is also said to have worked with Chelsea on a charity basis.
The plans, which have been seen by GOAL, suggest they will offer chips to Kai Havertz for scoring a Champions League goal, and club captain Cesar Azpilicueta. It would actually be about offering current players equities for their impact on the pitch.
Will the supporters support this project?
The plans have already been presented to prominent supporters ahead of the announcement, with the aim of launching a courtship offensive.
It comes after the Chelsea Supporters Trust (CST), the most influential group of supporters in west London, demanded several measures, including the issuance of a “golden share”.
This “golden share” would allow supporters of the Blues to have a right of veto on questions relating to the identity of the club, in particular the badge, the kit or the stadium, or even the fact of playing in another league.
This last point is important after Chelsea were involved in the Super League project which was widely derided by the vast majority of the British public.
They then made six more demands, but neither the UK government nor the Raine Group, which is leading the sale, will enforce such measures.
It is up to the parties in negotiations to choose whether to bring in supporters through the golden share or the True Blue consortium. However, for the True Blue consortium to be considered, it will need to have considerable momentum from supporters.
