Chelsea takeover bidder Woody Johnson sends warning to next owner after failed bid

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Woody Johnson has admitted his failure to buy Chelsea was “disappointing” but believes Roman Abramovich’s asking price is “so huge” that the blockbuster party will face “a huge challenge” with the club.

Johnson was one of several interested parties told last week that they had not been shortlisted to move on to the next stage of the bidding process. The 74-year-old American billionaire, part owner of the New York Jets, offered £2bn for the Blues, according to The Sun.

His offer was rejected by the Raine Group, the US commercial bank overseeing the sales process on behalf of Abramovich, who is selling after being sanctioned by the UK government following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bids from a consortium led by British property tycoon Nick Candy and another from the Saudi Media Group were also rejected.

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Four bids are still in the running: American Todd Boehly, Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family, former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, who is financially backed by Crystal Palace co-owners David Blitzer and Josh Harris, and Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca.

“My interest in Chelsea is that I am a Chelsea fan,” Johnson said in a statement, reported by the New York Post. “When I was there, I couldn’t be a fan of a particular team. He had to be diplomatic.

“I had to like all the teams, but we are Chelsea fans. It’s the London team. The concept of New York and London, I thought we could do quite well with that. I thought it would be another interesting effort for us.” .»

Woody Johnson served as US Ambassador to the UK under Donald Trump (Image: DANIEL LEAL/Getty Images)

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He added: “Not getting Chelsea [is] disappointing, but the numbers have become so huge that on the one hand I’m disappointed and on the other hand financially I think it’s going to be a big challenge.”

The remaining four bidders have until April 11 to submit their detailed proposals to Raine. The Premier League and ministers will be presented with Chelsea’s preferred offer before April 18, paving the way for a change of ownership to be settled before the end of the month.

Abramovich is understood to value Chelsea, whom he bought for £140m in 2003, at around £3bn. Raine has told prospective owners they must commit at least £1bn to future investment in the club, with a redevelopment of the 40,000-capacity Stamford Bridge a key aspect of the takeover race.

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