Steve Pagliuca and Larry Tanenbaum talk about their ‘long-term’ commitment to preserving Chelsea
In a conversation with Sky News, Chelsea bidders Steve Pagliuca and Larry Tanenbaum spoke about their commitment and their future path regarding the sale of the club.
The Blues have reached an unprecedented level of success in the last decade or so. They have pivoted in the right direction showing a great hunger for titles and an exciting brand of football. As such our prospective owners would have a lot to gain by being affiliated with us. It would almost instantly boost their social and business profile, also helping them in their business.
The Steve Pagliuca-led consortium is one of the bidders still remaining in the race to buy Chelsea along with groups led by Todd Boehly and Sir Martin Broughton. It is believed that our new owners will be confirmed very soon and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds.
Speaking to Sky News, Pagliuca and Tanenbaum made their intentions very clear. They highlighted that they looked at this sale as a long-term commitment hinting at ownership that could last a lifetime.
“Larry and I have known each other for over 20 years and we are committed to this being a lifetime ownership. It is a long-term commitment that both families want to make. I view the opportunity to acquire this iconic football club as an incredible one to invest in one of the premier teams in the world’s most prestigious soccer league. My goal, and that of Steve, would be to own Chelsea for decades to come.”
The Race for Chelsea
The Ricketts family-led consortium pulled out of the race to buy Chelsea after opting not to submit a final bid for the club. In the official statement issued by The Ricketts-Griffin-Gilbert Group, it was cited that the ‘unusual dynamics around the sales process’ were the main reason for this step.
The fact that the co-owner of the Boston Celtics and the Canadian Businessman showed such pride in having the opportunity to purchase the club is a good sign. Their long-term vision and goal of owning the London based club for decades could also help give us a sense of assurity regarding their presence.
That being said, it shouldn’t force them into complacency and they should be willing to invest significant sums into the club over the course. This could lead quite a few to simply view it as a business transaction in a bid to siphon as much money as possible.
Whilst the club may have faced a lot of uncertainty off the field, barring a few issues have largely put up impressive performances on it. We thus hope that the new owners respect our heritage and embody the values that our club is built upon. Failure to do this would only spark greater dissent from the fanbase.
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In such a scenario, a ‘lifetime’ pledge would have little to no effect as we already saw how a strained relationship between Mike Ashley and the Newcastle United fans affected the functioning of the club. Roman Abramovich spent over £2 billion on players and managers, as we won five Premier Leagues, five FA Cups, three League Cups, two UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Europa Leagues, two Community Shields, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA Club World Cup during his reign.
This sets the precedent for what our new owners should aim to achieve with the club. Lip service can get you to a certain point but on-field performances and measurements are the perfect yardsticks to measure a club’s true capabilities. We hope that this can be a glorious new chapter in the history of Stamford Bridge.
