Cubs: Ricketts family is looking to possibly buy Chelsea FC

Reports from Sky News surfaced this weekend that the Ricketts family, majority owners of the Chicago Cubs, will be one of the potential buyers of Chelsea Premier League football club. Chelsea is currently owned by Roman Abramovich, who confirmed he is putting the club up for sale due to possible sanctions during the Russian-Ukraine crisis.

Forbes in April 2021 pegged Chelsea’s value at $3.2 billion (£2.4billion). Other reported interested parties include Paradigm Sports, owned by Conor McGregor, Dodgers shareholder Todd Boehly, Citadel Asset CEO Ken Griffin and British billionaire property developer Nick Candy.

Cubs owners taking another swing at soccer

This is not the first time the Ricketts family has taken a look into European soccer. Back in 2018, they had an interest in buying the majority of shares in A.C. Milan. Elliott Management Corporation ended up becoming the majority owner in 2018.

We’re learning about this as MLB remains locked out and construction on a massive new sportsbook outside of Wrigley Field begins. Some fans will roll their eyes thinking about the “biblical losses” comment made by chairman Tom Ricketts in regards to the 2020 pandemic season. Despite the past few years of “balling on a budget” with the team on the field, the Ricketts appear to want to invest a lot more money in other areas.

Just how likely the Ricketts are to land ownership of the historic soccer club remains to be seen. The club clearly has a lot of interest from big-name business groups. It will take a hefty investment to land Chelsea from Abramovich, definitely more than the $845 million that the Ricketts paid to buy the majority stake of the Cubs from the Tribune in 2009.

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Right now, Cubs faithful just want baseball back and for Ricketts to invest in the team on the field. It was understandable that major changes were needed to the roster and structure of the organization going forward after failing to win a playoff game the past four seasons, but there is no excuse not to spend on the team itself when baseball returns.