Todd Boehly completes Chelsea takeover in deal worth up to £4.25bn

A consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly has completed its takeover of Premier League club Chelsea in a deal worth up to £4.25 billion.

The deal was formally announced on Saturday, bringing Roman Abramovich's 19-year tenure to an end and freeing Chelsea from restrictions relating to sanctions imposed on their former owner for alleged ties to Russia president Vladimir Putin.

Chelsea will now be granted a new licence to compete in the 2022-23 season, bringing to an end three months of uncertainty during which it was feared the club might cease to exist.

The club said in a statement: «Chelsea Football Club can confirm that a final and definitive agreement was entered into last night to sell the Club to the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital consortium. It is expected that the transaction will be completed on Monday. The Club will update further at that time.»

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Chelsea won 21 trophies in 19 years under Abramovich's ownership — no English club won more silverware in that time and February's Club World Cup win in Abu Dhabi meant he completed the set of winning every possible trophy at least once.

The Boehly-led consortium was selected as Chelsea's preferred bidder by New York-based merchant bank Raine Group, appointed to handle the sale after having performed financial duties for the club over recent years.

British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe attempted to exploit disagreements over the precise terms of the sale by tabling his own £4.25bn bid at the 11th hour.

However, Abramovich appears to have admitted defeat in an attempt to get the £2.5bn asking price — topped up by a