CLEVELAND Cavaliers NBA team Dan Gilbert has joined forces with the controversial Ricketts family in a bid to take over Chelsea.
According to Sky News, Rock Entertainment Group (REG) has agreed to participate in the consortium led by the Ricketts family and the hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin.
It is claimed REG have agreed to invest a significant but undisclosed sum in the takeover bid of Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea.
And American businessman Gilbert – whose wealth is estimated by Forbes magazine at almost £23.5billion – is said to be involved.
REG also owns the Cleveland Monsters ice hockey team, and the NBA G-League team Cleveland Charge.
The Ricketts family – who own baseball giants Chicago Cubs – have faced backlash when leaked emails from 2019 appeared to reveal prospective new owner Joe Ricketts saying “Muslims are my enemy”.
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As exposed by Splinter, the 80-year-old also wrote in 2019: “Christians and Jews can have a mutual respect for each other to create a civil society.
“As you know, Islam cannot do that. Therefore we cannot ever let Islam become a large part of our society.
“Muslims are naturally my (our) enemy due to their deep antagonism and bias against non-Muslims.”
And amid the heavy backlash, the American family have tried to appease supporters with a brief comment.
They said: “Our family rejects any form of hate in the strongest possible terms.
“Racism and Islamophobia have no place whatsoever in our society.
“We have developed deep and abiding partnerships with the Muslim community in Chicago, as well as with all communities of colour.
“Respect for diversity and inclusion are central to our family’s values.
“If we prevail in our bid for Chelsea, we commit to the Club and to the fans that we will actively promote these values.”
The Ricketts have been backed by US hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who is worth an estimated £20billion, and are confident they will progress to the next stage of the process.
But Chelsea fans are campaigning against the Ricketts already.
The Chelsea Supporters Trust then came out on Saturday and condemned the Americans’ approach.
Blues supporters showed their disdain for the Ricketts’ with a protest before Brentford’s shock 4-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
Around 100 of them gathered at Stamford Bridge to make their point to club chiefs.
Banners could be seen saying “Buck Off” and “No To Ricketts, No To Racism.”
The fans could also be heard chanting: “F*** off the Ricketts, you’re not wanted here.”
A statement from the Supporters Trust read: “Last week, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust stated that the Ricketts family must urgently and publicly address supporter concerns – especially with regard to inclusivity, given both past and recent statements by members of the family.”
Four interested parties remain in the bidding process to buy the European Champions and are expected to pay around £2.5billlion to get the nod from the US bank brokering the sale.
All four are due to travel to London this week to lay out their visions for the club to current chairman Bruce Buck and directors Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum.
