American businessman Todd Boehly, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, wanted to buy the Chelsea soccer club owned by Roman Abramovich, but his offer was rejected. According to The Wall Street Journal, Boehli offered the Russian billionaire less than the desired $3 billion

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich #17 rejected an offer from former president of the investment company Guggenheim Partners Todd Boehly, who wanted to buy a businessman-owned London soccer club Chelsea. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing knowledgeable sources.

According to sources, the offer was made by Boehli, who is also co-owner of baseball club Los Angeles Dodgers, not long ago, in recent weeks. Exactly how much the businessman offered for the English Premier League club, sources did not specify. But we are talking about an amount below $3 billion – that is, less than the price that the WSJ claims Abramovich is counting on. In September 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek, citing a source, wrote that the billionaire wants to sell Chelsea for £3 billion ($3.9 billion at current exchange rates).

WSJ interlocutors clarified that Boeley is still interested in the deal and will probably have to raise the price. Abramovich himself seems in no hurry to sell the club, the newspaper said. One source says that last year the billionaire has already rejected several offers from people willing to pay less than $3 billion. According to one WSJ source, Abramovich expects to get not only the value of the club, but also return some of the money he spent since 2003 on the purchase of star players. A Chelsea spokesman told the paper that the club is not for sale.

Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140 million ($181 million). Information about the possible sale of “Chelsea” appeared after the British authorities refused to extend Abramovich’s investment visa in 2018. The Sunday Times reported that the billionaire does not want to invest heavily in the UK.

Shortly after that, the billionaire abruptly canceled the reconstruction of Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s home stadium. The project was estimated at $1.3 billion and, if implemented, could have expanded the stadium’s capacity to 60,000 seats, the WSJ stresses. Whoever becomes the new owner of the club will have to think about the reconstruction of this stadium in the future, since the 41,000-seat Stamford Bridge is now only the ninth largest stadium in the league, the newspaper adds.