Antony Ressler, the owner of the NBA basketball team the Atlanta Hawks, is “a leading contender” to buy Chelsea, according to The Sun.
The English tabloid claims that the American billionaire has held “secret talks” with the Raine Group, who are in charge of the sale process.
A source told the newspaper that Ressler is “keen” to buy a British football team but he is looking to drive a “hard bargain” in order to get a deal over the line.
The 61-year-old, who also has a minority stake in MLB Baseball franchise the Milwaukee Brewers, has a net worth of $5.5billion (£4.2billion) so there are question marks over whether he can afford to buy Chelsea on his own.
There are also a number of other potential buyers interested in purchasing the London club, including the Boehly/Wyss Consortium, the Ricketts family (who own the Chicago Cubs), as well as Woody Johnson (the owner of the New York Jets).
