Danny Finklestein confirms involvement in consortium bidding to buy Chelsea FC

Former government adviser and Times journalist said he is 'delighted' to be part of American deal-maker Todd Boehly's attempt to purchase the West London club

Times newspaper columnist and former government adviser Danny Finklestein has confirmed his involvement in a consortium seeking to but Chelsea Football Club.

Finklestein, a long-time Chelsea fan, tweeted a statement in which he said he was “delighted” to be part of American deal-maker Todd Boehly’s attempt to purchase the West London club.

The Jewish journalist also appeared to confirm the involvement of former Jewish Leadership Council chair Jonathan Goldstein in the bid.

He described the Cain International investment chief as a “brilliant man who knows his football.”

Goldstein, a Tottenham Hotspur fan, was linked to the bid last week. “We’d be lucky to have him,” Finkelstein said.

Finkestein’s statement came after Bloomberg reported Boehly plans to appoint him and celebrity Public Relations Barbara Charone officer as non-executive board directors at Chelsea if his bid for the club in successful.

The club is being sold by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich after he was sanctioned by the UK government in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and intense scrutiny of his ties to President Vladimir Putin.

Finkelstein, who has in the past provided advice to Conservative prime ministers John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, tweeted of the consortium: “These are smart guys who don’t just have money to invest – they know how to use it.”

He pointed to Boehly’s success with the LA Dodgers baseball team in the US.

Finklestein was also recently part of a government review of football governance in the U.K.

Charone meanwhile, a Chelsea season ticket holder, is a hugely successful public relations executive with acts like Madonna and the Foo Fighters.

Others bidding for Chelsea include Oaktree Capital Management, the distressed debt specialist founded by Howard Marks, UK property developer Nick Canday and Josh Harris, co-founder of Apollo Global Management Inc., among others.

The UK government has insisted Abramovich, who was sanctioned over links to Russia’s President Putin last week will “not benefit” from any sale of the club.

Any new buyer will have firstly obtain a license in order to purchase the club for a rumoured £2 billion.

Meanwhile, investment banker Michael Klein has joined Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe’s consortium to buy Chelsea.

Klein adds another major shot in the arm for Broughton’s candidacy for the Premier League club, with the American investment specialist’s advisory role indicating significant financial backing.

Creative Artists Agency and Evolution Media Capital have also joined up with Broughton’s bid, the PA news agency understands.

World Athletics president and London 2012 chief Coe confirmed his addition to Broughton’s bid on Wednesday, in the first major coup for the ex-Liverpool chairman.

Klein helped advise then-prime minister Gordon Brown on Britain’s banking crisis of 2008 and also advised Broughton’s rescue act at Liverpool in 2010.

Broughton took a short-term chairmanship at Liverpool to oversee the sale to current owners the Fenway Sports Group, who have ushered in prosperity and success at Anfield.