As a battle rages among ultra-wealthy individuals around the world to acquire Chelsea Football Club – one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs – Loutfy Mansour, son of Egyptian billionaire businessman Mansour Mohamed, has revealed that he is not pursuing a bid to take over the Chelsea Football Club from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Mansour, the 33-year-old Egyptian CEO of Man Capital, the private equity investment business of the Mansour Group, is a Chelsea season ticket holder; his father, Mansour Mohamed, who manages the family conglomerate Mansour Group, is worth $2.5 billion.
His latest decision not to organize a bid to purchase Chelsea comes roughly 24 hours after news sources indicated that he is one of the ultrarich individuals who have expressed interest in owning the premier football club.
The recent takeover of Chelsea comes after club owner Roman Abramovich confirmed his decision to sell the club following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the UK government to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs with significant interests in the UK and close ties to the Kremlin.
The sanctions give the UK government the authority to seize British property owned by oligarchs without compensation. Although Abramovich has denied any affiliation with President Vladimir Putin and has yet to face punishment, the British government has continued to sanction Russian businesses and enterprises.
The government has slapped a comprehensive asset freeze and a travel restriction on Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov, two of Russia’s biggest billionaires with considerable interests in the UK and strong ties with the Kremlin, as part of the penalties.
Abramovich has stated unequivocally that he will not accept any proposal less than £3 billion ($3.9 billion), and that he will not seek repayment of his £1.5 billion ($1.32 billion) loan to the club.
He further stated that all net earnings from the sale of Chelsea will be donated to Ukrainian war victims.
In July 2003, the Russian billionaire paid £140 million ($185.7 million) for Chelsea, and since then, he has guided the London-based club to 17 major trophies and invested more than £1 billion ($1.33 billion) in its operations.
