Antony Ressler – the man who wants to buy Chelsea.
NBA team owner Atlanta Hawks has emerged as one of the latest figures to buy Chelsea.
The Blues were launched by Roman Abramovich earlier this month and a number of researchers are reportedly interested in the € 3 billion club.
The oligarch received sanctions from the UK government after the Russian occupation of Ukraine and in the meantime, he put the club up for sale in an attempt to end his 19-year era.
And one of the main contenders is Antony Ressler, a 61-year-old tycoon who owns the Atlanta Hawks.
The Sun reports that the tycoon – with a significant fortune of 4.5 billion euros – has had talks in Memphis with investment bank Raine Group, which is overseeing the sale.
A source told the English media: “Tony is keen to add a British football team to his list of sports and has not hidden this, but is prepared to make a difficult bargain in the negotiations. That said, there are some other players involved.
Ressler, who bought the team in 2015, co-founded the private equity firm Ares Management, but has branched out into sports, with a 115m-euro investment in David Beckham’s American football club, Inter Miami – a move also organized through the Raine Group.
Indeed historically, Atlanta has not been a team the best players will tend to go to, with their former owners having no general ambition to succeed like him – but Ressler has offered new life.
It is reported that the first round of offers for Chelsea is expected to be at the beginning of next week.