Tuesday brought news that the Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are flying to London in an attempt to complete a purchase of Chelsea Football Club. It’s reportedly down to the short list now, only the serious candidates to takeover CFC are supposedly still in the mix.
Aligned with Ken Griffin, the CEO of hedge fund Citadel, the Ricketts family are certainly on that short list. That’s because Griffin with a net worth of $26.5 billion, has more wealth on paper than anyone else who has been linked with buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
The Ricketts have a very clear Non-Rebuilding Plan currently in place with the Cubs. They only have interest in boosting the franchise’s valuation, for impending sale. No interest in fielding a competitive team.
They’ll do the exact same to Chelsea FC https://t.co/aIcKf9DDrr— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) March 22, 2022
Due to a host of reasons, which work on multiple levels, lots of Chelsea supporters are expressing their opposition to a potential Ricketts takeover. Many supporters are worried about how the family might approach building the player roster, looking at the Cubs as an example.
Ricketts blew up the Cubs core of key and star players, almost entirely, last July in a fire sale the likes of which baseball had never seen before. They cried poor in public, citing “biblical losses” on the fiscal bottom line, despite having being one of the richest owners in all of baseball.
(Obviously, their takeover bid of Chelsea conveys how financially well off they remain)
BREAKING: The Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, are flying to London as part of their bid to buy Chelsea Football Club ? pic.twitter.com/KGpwiXcOZh
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 22, 2022
Basically, the Ricketts have telegraphed their aims of doing whatever they can to augments the Cubs franchise valuation, and then sell it off for profit, piece by piece if needs be. Chelsea fans have every right to be concerned that the same thing could happen to their beloved club.
Other Blues supporters are backlashing against the Ricketts due to their worldviews and sociopolitical views. They have openly supported Donald Trump, and even held fund-raisers in his honor on Cubs property.
You know what to do ? #NoToRicketts
— George Benson (@MrGeorgeBenson) March 22, 2022
Pass it on ??
— Conn (@ConnCFC) March 22, 2022
When Ricketts formed a Cubs-centric television network, they partnered with Sinclair Broadcasting, a noted disinformation channel notorious for amplifying right-wing propaganda and hate speech.
You also have the hateful, bigoted and Islamophobic emails of Joe Ricketts, written in 2009 but unearthed a few years ago. Chelsea is a club with a high contingent of Muslim star players, and a big portion of the fan base is proudly Muslim.
I love my club @ChelseaFC & it’s so important that the new owners respect not just the club, but the fans, peoples religions, colour of skin, & that’s why I am #NoToRicketts ? pic.twitter.com/XMHyO8yBkm
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) March 22, 2022
Chelsea Football Club is for everyone ?
Spread the word, #NoToRicketts ? pic.twitter.com/NHilQva93D
— Elvis Tunde ? (@Tunnykvng) March 22, 2022
While Tom Ricketts is the public face of the family, it’s Joe Ricketts who is the true patriarch. He founded TD Ameritrade, which the Ricketts family sold to Charles Schwab for close to $30 billion a couple years ago.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.