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Chelsea moved a significant step closer to confirming new owners after the Portuguese government approved the sale of the club.
Such a deal required the green light from authorities in Portugal given that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s owner since 2003, also holds Portuguese citizenship.
The clearance was confirmed a day after the UK government said it was satisfied “the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich”.
Chelsea agreed to terms for the sale of the club to an ownership group led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss for £4.25billion earlier in May. That deal was passed by the Premier League on Tuesday, pending governmental approval.
The UK government sanctioned Chelsea owner Abramovich due to his links to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Chelsea takeover promises investment of £1.75billion into the club, while proceeds of the sale are expected to be donated to victims in Ukraine.
Portugal’s government said in a statement on Thursday morning that a decision had been reached in talks held the previous evening.
“Portugal gave authorisation, this Wednesday night, to the sale of Chelsea football club,” the statement said.
“The two competent national authorities – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance – gave the green light to the request received from Roman Abramovich for a humanitarian waiver, allowing the English club to be transacted.
“The Portuguese authorisation stems from the guarantee given by the British authorities that the proceeds from the sale will be used for humanitarian purposes, not directly or indirectly benefiting the owner of the club, who is on the European Union sanctions list. The national position has the agreement of the European Commission.”
