Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams are among investors in Chelsea bid
As first reported by Sky, seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion Williams has pledged investment into the Broughton Consortium bid for Chelsea.
The Broughton consortium is one of three groups in the running to purchase the Premier League club for £2.5bn.
World Athletics president and Chelsea fan Lord Coe are also behind the bid.
The Premier League club is currently operating under a special licence from the UK government after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.
Abramovich put the club up for sale before he was sanctioned for his alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
BBC Sport understands that Hamilton and Williams have been involved with the Broughton consortium's bid from the start.
While they are financial investors in the bid, they would have no say in footballing decisions.
Other investors in the Broughton-led bid include the Rogers family, who are based in Canada and own media and telecoms company Rogers Communications, chair of the Houston 2026 World Cup bid committee John Arnold, and the Tsai family from Taiwan, which owns two baseball teams.
The group faces competition to buy Chelsea from consortiums led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and co-owner of the Boston Celtics Stephen Pagliuca.
American investment firm Raine Group has been tasked with selling Chelsea and the UK government is expected to issue a new licence, allowing the club to be sold once a preferred buyer has been identified.
Any sale must be signed off by the bidder passing the Premier League's owners' and directors' test.
Several sources have told BBC Sport that a decision about a preferred bidder is unlikely this week, but once one is chosen it is expected that there will be little opposition to any of the bids from the Premier League or government.
Chelsea is third in the Premier League and face Liverpool in the FA Cup final on 14 May. (BBC Sport)
