June 21 – Chelsea’s long serving American chairman Bruce Buck (pictured left) is to step down in favour of incoming US new money man Todd Boehly (pictured right).
Buck, 76, had been an ever present since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003 and he had been expected to continue. Instead he will take on a role as a ‘senior advisor’.
“Now is the right time to step down and let new ownership build on the strong foundations we have in place,” he said.
“The owners have a compelling vision for Chelsea’s future, and I look forward to helping them achieve it in this new role alongside our incredible staff, players, coaches and supporters.”
Buck, a lawyer who was Abramovich’s ‘man’ from start to finish at Chelsea, oversaw the sale of the club to US interests despite the late bid from England’s Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe’s bid matched the money being put up Boehly’s venture capital funded acquisition and was based on the premiss that Chelsea was a valuable English asset that should be in English ownership. He said that Ineos, who would have funded the acquisition, was not looking to make money as it made plenty of money in its other businesses, but Ineos was looking to grow Chelsea as a business and football institution.
Ratcliffe’s English pitch had the effect of speeding up the closure of Chelsea sale to Boehly, led by Buck and his American banking partner.
“I am proud to have helped Chelsea realise great success on the pitch and make a positive impact in the community,” he added.
Presumably he means the international banking community.
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