Ricketts family confirm bid as Chelsea deadline passes

The 9pm bid deadline for the sale of Chelsea has passed, with the Ricketts family confirming they have submitted an offer for the Premier League club.

The sale has come amid UK and EU sanctions on Roman Abramovich following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Chelsea also under a number of restrictions.

The club - including women and youth teams - cannot sell tickets to games or sell merchandise and are restricted on how much they can spend on any given game day.

It is a unique situation for many reasons, but especially that a club like Chelsea does not become available on the open market very often, if ever. They are one of the biggest clubs in the world - the world and European champions - so there is a lot of interest.

The Ricketts family - owners of the Chicago Cubs and one of the biggest names linked with a big - confirmed on Friday evening that they had sent in an offer.

An official statement from the family said: "The Ricketts Family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, can confirm they will be leading an investment group that will make a formal bid for Chelsea Football Club this Friday (March 18).

"As long-time operators of an iconic professional sports team, the Ricketts Family and their partners understand the importance of investing for success on the pitch, while respecting the traditions of the club, the fans and the community.

"We look forward to sharing further details of our plans in due course."

Significantly, they are backed by Ken Griffin, who is a hedge fund billionaire and Sky Sports News has been told he is almost three times as rich as Abramovich. He is also the single richest individual that is reportedly interested in buying Chelsea.

There have been other confirmations of bids for Chelsea alongside the