Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton and tennis icon Serena Williams are set to join forces in a bid to become the new owners of English Premier League side Chelsea.
According to a Sky News report, Hamilton and Williams have committed an estimated $17.6 million each to one of the bids vying to become the new owners of Chelsea, after its previous owner Roman Abramovich was ousted due to his ties with Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The bid Hamilton and Williams are involved in is spearheaded by former Liverpool Football Club and British Airways chairman, Sir Martin Broughton.
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The Broughton-led consortium is one of three finalists being considered by Raine Group, a US firm overseeing the sale of the club on behalf of Abramovich.
Hamilton, a seven-time Formula 1 champion, and Williams, a 23-time grand slam winner, are believed to have been in talks with Broughton and other co-investors for several weeks.
Hamilton and Williams join Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who also have a minority stake in Chelsea’s London rivals, Crystal Palace. Harris and Blitzer would be required to divest their stake in Palace under Premier League rules.
Other figures behind the Broughton-led consortium include Canada’s Rogers family, Taiwan’s Tsai family and Colombian-American philanthropist, Alejandro Santo Domingo.
The rival offers to Broughton’s bid are from a group headed by US businessman, Todd Boehly, who has been in attendance at a number of Chelsea’s recent matches, and a group led by Steve Pagliuca, who is the biggest shareholder in Italian Serie A club, Atalanta.
Like Harris and Blitzer, Pagliuca would need to reduce his stake in the Italian side if he is to be Chelsea’s owner.