Is football a good target? After the ouster of Abu, American capital has dominated the Premier League

Since Russian boss Roman Abramovich announced that he would sell Chelsea Football Club, the club has become a "fat meat" that American, British and Saudi capitals are competing for.

And after all the twists and turns of government involvement, ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and a protracted bidding war, the whole process seems to be evolving toward the Premier League's most familiar script: this "fat" will eventually be "taken away" by the United States, and the entire big football clubs will fall under the control of the Americans.

On Friday, a team led by Los Angeles Dodgers investor Todd Boehly began exclusive talks to buy Chelsea from Abu for more than $3 billion, which could be the largest acquisition deal in professional sports history (the upcoming sale of the Denver Broncos of the NFL could exceed that number), according to the Wall Street Journal.

If finalized, Boehly's deal with Chelsea would mean that U.S. investors would hold a majority stake in premier league clubs (7) rather than British investors (6).

This bid the U.S. buyer has the advantage

One is because of the urgency of reaching an agreement. Abu announced his intention to sell the team six days after the Outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and eight days later he was subject to economic sanctions.

With Abu placed under government supervision, Chelsea was forced into a panic as the team could not sell merchandise, tickets, renegotiate contracts or sign any new players during this period. The team's expenses are increasing, with a monthly salary of up to $36 million on its star lineup.

Abu, on the other hand, needs approval from the UK government to complete the deal.

An executive in Britain's digital, culture, media and sports department, which oversees the sale, has previously said there are not enough resources to review multiple bidders or consortiums. To save the government and the Premier League time and money, Chelsea will need to provide a priority bidder to complete the deal. The Raine Group, the New York banking group responsible for Chelsea's sale, basically had only one chance to pick the winner, so it pushed wealthy bidders from the United States to the forefront.

Moreover, for the British government, the U.S. acquisition is far less worrisome than the last Premier League deal, which was acquired by Newcastle United by a group led by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. At the time, the backlash from the public raised questions about Saudi Arabia's human rights record and how much control the Saudi royal family might have over the club.

How American capital dominates the Premier League step by step

When the Premier League was founded in 1992, the strength of American capital today seemed unlikely. At the time, British clubs were usually controlled by local self-made millionaires who bought the teams they had as teenagers. And wall Street bigwigs are far from the point where they start caring about the fate of clubs like Burnley and Liverpool.

However, there are few assets in the sports world that can match the English football team, and the Premier League is broadcast in more than 190 countries, far exceeding the ratings of any other domestic sports league.

With the support of a large number of television rights sales and international distribution, the league's revenue and popularity have become increasingly high, and interest from foreign capital has slowly begun to pour in. When Abu bought Chelsea in 2003, he was just the second non-British boss in league history. The Americans soon joined him and were actively sought after by Premier League executives.

Former Premier League Aston Villa boss Randy Lerner remembers that in the early 2000s, his family also owned The Cleveland Brown, american professional football. Fast forward to less than 10 years, U.S. money has gone on a wild buy-in for British soccer teams: the Glazer family has moved into Manchester United, Fenway Sports Group, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, has bought Liverpool, and sports and real estate mogul and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke has bought Arsenal.

The clubs compete for trophies, make big investments in the transfer market and profit from the rapidly growing interest of American fans. NBC Universal previously spent $1 billion to acquire six years of Premier League rights in the United States. Last year, it renewed for another six years for $2.7 billion.

So it's no coincidence that the Boehly consortium's fiercest competition comes from two other U.S.-backed blocs. One is led by Stephen Pagliuca, co-owner of the Boston Celtics and co-chairman of private equity firm Bain Capital, and the other is driven by the Philadelphia 76ers co-owners and private equity veterans Josh Harris and David Blitzer. Previously, the Chicago Cubs' Ricketts family was also involved in the process, after which the family withdrew after some racist emails came to light.

Does the UK really not care?

While U.S. buyers' deal with Chelsea won't be the same as it was when the Saudis bought it, america's expanding influence in English football still makes britons despair.

British petrochemical giant billionaire Jim Ratcliffe made his views on foreign ownership clear in his latest offer to the club on Friday.

Ratcliffe, which already owns football clubs in France and Switzerland, is believed not to pose a challenge to Boehly Group's bid. The Wall Street Journal quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that he had had the opportunity to bid early in the bidding process but had not put much effort into it and was no longer seen as a serious candidate.

Relations between British fans and American investors have not been smooth sailing. In 2005, when the Glazer family took over Manchester United in a massive leveraged buyout, they were met with protests and death threats outside the stadium. The seats around Old Trafford, United's home stadium, still bear the slogan "Glazer out". Arsenal fans often demand that Kroenke sell the club. Even Liverpool fans, who have already witnessed the team return to the pinnacle of European football, turned to protests against Fenway Sports Group in 2021 after failing attempts to establish the UEFA Premier League.

Chelsea fans hope they don't repeat the mistakes of the past.

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