Chelsea takeover ‘financially a huge challenge’, claims New York Jets chief after failed bid

Johnson’s offer did not progress beyond the first round of bidding from interested parties

Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, has admitted that the failure of his bid to buy Chelsea is “disappointing”.

The heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, Johnson developed an affinity for the club during his time in London as the ambassador to the United Kingdom under Donald Trump’s presidency.

He had submitted an offer reportedly in the region of $2.6 billion (£2 billion) to acquire the club from Roman Abramovich, who has put Chelsea up for sale after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Johnson’s bid did not make the list of preferred bidders assembled by the Raine Group, who are handling the sale on the club’s behalf.

Though conceding the prospect of owning one of the Premier League’s most successful clubs did appeal, Johnson also highlighted concerns over the price demanded of interested parties.

“My interest in Chelsea is I’m a fan of Chelsea,” Johnson said at the NFL owners’ meeting in Florida. “When I was over there, I couldn’t be a fan of a particular team. I had to be diplomatic. I had to like all the teams, but we were Chelsea fans.

“It’s London’s team. The concept of New York and London, I thought was one that we could do pretty well with that. I thought it would be another interesting endeavour for us.

“Not getting Chelsea is disappointing, but the numbers have gotten so enormous that on one hand I’m disappointed and on the other hand, financially, I think it’s going to be a huge challenge.”

Johnson, a New Jersey native, has co-owned the New York Jets since 2000 alongside younger brother Chris.

The list of potential new Chelsea owners has been narrowed to four after a significant whittling down of those who had submitted bids.

Consortiums led by Sir Martin Broughton, Todd Boehly, the Ricketts family and Stephen Pagliuca remain in contention and have been given a deadline of 11 April to submit improved bids.

The takeover could be concluded by the end of April.