Lewis Hamilton confirms role in Chelsea bid and says takeover would be the ‘ultimate dream’
The seven-time Formula One world champion has committed ‘millions’ to one of three bids to buy Chelsea
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Your support makes all the difference.Lewis Hamilton has confirmed he has joined a consortium of investors bidding to buy Chelsea and says playing a part in the takeover of the club would be the “ultimate dream”.
The seven-time Formula One world champion has explained the “great opportunity” to back Sir Martin Broughton’s bid to buy the club, which has also been joined by 23-time tennis grand slam champion Serena Williams.
Hamilton says he is motivated by helping Chelsea “do better moving forwards” and is appealed by the challenge of turning the Premier League club in to a “profit-making organisation”.
The 37-year-old added that he had held discussions with Broughton, who is leading one of takeover three bids following the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich by the UK Government, to continue Chelsea’s work in making an “impact” in the community.
Hamilton also revealed how he and Williams became involved in the bid, which faces opposition from rival consortiums led by Boston Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca and LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.
“Chelsea is one of the biggest teams in the world,” Hamilton said ahead of this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix . “When I heard about the opportunity, I was like wow, this is a great opportunity to be part of something so great.
“Sir Martin took time to speak to me on the phone and explain to me his and his team’s goals if they were to win the bid, which was incredibly exciting and very much aligned with my values.”
Hamilton and Williams are friends and the 40-year-old American is already an investor in Los Angeles’ Angel City FC, who play in the NWSL in the United States. “We spoke about it,” Hamilton said. “I told her I was going to be involved and she was happy to join.”
Hamilton, who said he grew up as an Arsenal fan and had trials for his Stevenage, his local team, as he revealed what attracted him to joining Broughton’s consortium. On Thursday, Hamilton’s rival Max Verstappen poked fun at the idea of an Arsenal fan joining a bid to buy Chelsea.
“I have been a football fan since I was a kid. I played in the school team every year in my childhood and I have been to numerous games,” Hamilton said. “When I was young, I wanted to fit in and all the kids supported different teams. I remember switching between teams and my sister punching me and saying you have to support Arsenal, so then I became a supporter of Arsenal.
“But my uncle Terry is a big Blues fan and I have been to so many games with him to watch Arsenal and Chelsea play. I wanted to be the best player I could be and play for a team. I was trying to tryout for Stevenage Borough but I ended up in the racing space. I could only have dreamed of being part of a team - and that is the ultimate dream.”
Hamilton was also asked about the finances of his pledge, which is believed to be in the region of £10m, and whether it can be considered to be an investment considering Chelsea’s latest accounts revealed an annual loss of around £150m.
“Naturally it is never the idea of an investment [to lose money],” Hamilton said. “I want to be part of something, manage this team moving forward, improve that and make sure that doesn’t happen by slowly decreasing those losses and turn it into a profit-making organisation.
“That is going to take a lot of work and there are lots of moving parts. I don’t have the strategy for that at the moment. We have not won the bid so I am sure that will all come afterwards.
“But the consortium is a consortium of lifetime Chelsea fans and others that have come later to it like myself. There is not one part of that consortium that has a mindset of losing. I really think Chelsea already has a winning mindset but we can do better moving forwards.”
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