Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams in bid to buy Chelsea

Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams have joined a consortium led by a former British Airways chairman to buy Chelsea.

Lewis Hamilton has joined a consortium to buy Chelsea Picture: Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams have joined a consortium led by the former British Airways chairman, Martin Broughton, to buy Chelsea.

Hamilton, 37, is an Arsenal fan but a source close to the consortium said that the seven-times Formula One world champion has committed to being an investor and would also have a formal anti-discrimination role at the club, ensuring that best practice was being followed.

Williams, the 40-year-old former tennis world No 1 and 23-times grand-slam singles champion, has also joined the consortium, which includes Lord Coe, the president of World Athletics, and American investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who would have to sell their stake in Crystal Palace.

A spokesman for Hamilton confirmed he had joined the Broughton consortium but denied reports that his potential investment was as much as pounds 10 million, the same sum that Williams was said to be prepared to invest. Max Verstappen, Hamilton’s great rival in F1, couldn’t resist a none-too-subtle dig. “I thought he (Hamilton) was an Arsenal fan? And if you are an Arsenal fan going for Chelsea, that it is quite interesting,” Verstappen said. “I am a PSV fan and I would never buy Ajax.

“And if I was going to buy a football club I would want to be the full owner and to take the decisions myself, not own just a tiny percentage. But everyone does what they want with their money so let’s see what comes out of it.”

Williams is already an investor in Los Angeles’ Angel City FC, which plays in the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States and is backed by a number of other celebrities including Natalie Portman and Eva Longoria. Hamilton and Williams have also been high-profile campaigners for equality in their respective sports.

Tennis star Serena Williams is a part owner of Angel City FC Picture: Getty Images

Other high-profile investors in Premier League clubs from the world of sport include LeBron James, the NBA star, who has had a small stake in Liverpool for more than a decade.

Lesser-known investors in the Broughton consortium include the family behind the Canadian telecoms giant Rogers Communications and Taiwan’s Tsai family, who own the Taipei Fubon Braves basketball team and the Fubon Guardians baseball team, Sky News has reported.

Final bids for the club, which was put up for sale in March by Roman Abramovich after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were submitted earlier this month. The other two consortiums on the shortlist are headed by the LA Dodgers part-owner, Todd Boehly, and the Boston Celtics co-owner, Steve Pagliuca. Another group led by the US-based Ricketts family withdrew from the process after being shortlisted. The club’s sale is being overseen by New York merchant bank The Raine Group.

Abramovich, 55, has been disqualified from running Chelsea and he cannot profit from the proceeds of the sale, which the British government must sign off under the terms of a licence that allows the team to continue operating. Abramovich and the club’s board are due to make the final decision on which bid to accept and put it forward for government approval.

The Times