Chelsea: Ricketts family offers to meet fans over bid

The Ricketts family, which is aiming to buy Chelsea, says it will meet fans to allay concerns about its potential ownership.

They are one of six groups who have made their bids for Chelsea public.

The bidders are all waiting to hear if they have made a shortlist.

Fans have criticised the Ricketts family's ownership of the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise, as well as anti-Muslim comments made by the family's patriarch Joe Ricketts in 2019.

Paul Canoville, Chelsea's first black footballer, said on social mediaexternal-link: «So I've seen and heard enough. I'm backing Chelsea Supporters' Trust and saying a big fat anti-racism NO to the Ricketts bid.»

Brian Wolff, the head of Chelsea's Chicago official supporters group and a Cubs fan, also urged those handling the sale to reject the Ricketts bid in favour of other options after he claimed it had been met with «universal disdain» by fans in the US and worldwide.

He questioned the political allegiances of the family and said other bids would «commit to not only building upon the last two decades of investment in players and infrastructure but, equally important, the investment in supporters and the values which we hold dear.»

However, sources close to the Ricketts family said Joe Ricketts would have no role or involvement in the bid for Chelsea, which is being headed up by his children Tom, Todd and Laura, who — unlike her Republican family — is a Democrat.

The family took over at the Cubs in 2009 and led the team to a World Series win in 2016, their first in 108 years. The family also redeveloped the Cubs stadium, Wrigley Field, and the surrounding area, costing about £750m.

It is understood the family want to speak to the Chelsea Supporters' Trust and Chelsea Pitch Owners, who