Ken Griffin ‘expected’ to become the major shareholder of Chelsea if Ricketts bid succeeds — report

It might says Ricketts on the tin, but inside, it would be full of mostly Ken Griffin’s billions. That’s the “expectation” according to the Telegraph, with the billionaire founder and CEO of Citadel set to become “the major shareholder” and thus have the controlling stake in the Chelsea should this bid succeed.

While there is “no official confirmation” of this arrangement yet, it’s the closest we’ve come to Griffin stepping out of the background. And it’s the closest we might come to as the Rickettses are still expected to front the bid and be in charge of “day-to-day” operations at the club and, presumably, ensure (long-term) profitability.

The report also reveals that two of the Ricketts family, Tom and Laura, and possibly Griffin as well met with Chelsea executives today, as part of the final bidding process. As per the report, “Laura’s presence in the meeting was seen as particularly key to the talks around diversity and inclusion. She is the only openly-gay owner of an American sports franchise and has campaigned for LGBTQ issues and equal rights.”

All the other bids are set to do the same this week of course, they’ve just been getting less media coverage — either by choice or by necessity.

We did get confirmation in the comments that the Boehly bid’s in town as well and were at the Brentford match over the weekend. (Sorry!) Meanwhile, Stephen Pagliuca’s bid is looking to add some additional funding in the form of former Disney CEO Bob Iger. Marvel Cinematic Universe, here we come!

The Pagliuca and the Broughton bids have been the most secretive, for whatever that’s worth.