Chelsea takeover: What next after Blues sale is ratified?

The Roman Abramovich era is officially at an end with US magnate Todd Boehly paying a sports franchise record £4.25billion to complete his Chelsea takeover.

Here we look at how the sale was finally ratified and what happens next.

How was the Chelsea takeover completed?

The UK Government added the final touches to Boehly’s Chelsea takeover on Tuesday night before confirming the issuing of a new licence on Wednesday morning to allow his consortium to complete the west London club purchase.

Why did the Government have to get involved?

Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich was sanctioned by Downing Street on March 10, with the UK Government claiming to have proven his links to Russia president Vladimir Putin amid the war in Ukraine.

Abramovich’s UK assets have been frozen ever since, apart from Chelsea, with the Blues only able to operate under a strict temporary licence until the sale was completed.

What will happen to the sale money?

The Government has confirmed the £2.5billion sale proceeds will be “used for humanitarian causes in Ukraine”.

Abramovich has already tasked former UNICEF UK executive director Mike Penrose with setting up an independent charitable foundation, insisting the sheer scale of investment could “change the face of humanitarian aid”.

What have been the hold-ups?

Abramovich has loaned Chelsea £1.5billion, and pledged to write off that debt when putting the club up for sale on March 2.

The Government has demanded extensive oversight on those plans, given the conditions of the sanctions. Abramovich and his lawyers were eventually able to alleviate Government concerns about that write-off process though.