Tycoon Kenneth Griffin ‘joins forces with Chicago Cubs owners to make BLOCKBUSTER Chelsea bid’

American tycoon Ken Griffin has reportedly joined forces with the owners of Chicago Cubs to launch to a blockbuster bid to own Chelsea. 

Sky claim the Ricketts family and Griffin have come together to create an investment group and will lodge a formal offer for the west London outfit on Friday.

That coincides with the deadline set by American merchant bank Raine Group for bids to be submitted.

A spokesman for the consortium told Sky: ‘The Ricketts Family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, can confirm they will be leading an investment group that will make a formal bid for Chelsea Football Club this Friday.

‘As long-time operators of an iconic professional sports team, the Ricketts Family and their partners understand the importance of investing for success on the pitch, while respecting the traditions of the club, the fans and the community.

‘We look forward to sharing further details of our plans in due course.’ 

Griffin is the founder and chief executive of Citadel Asset Management,  an American multinational hedge fund and financial services company.

Forbes recently estimated his wealth at £20billion ($26.5bn), which makes him the richest individual in the public domain interested in solving Chelsea’s crisis by buying the club from Roman Abramovich.

American tycoon Ken Griffin has reportedly joined forces with the owners of Chicago Cubs to launch to a blockbuster bid to own Chelsea

Griffin has joined forces with Chicago Cubs chairman Thomas Ricketts (centre) and his family

The Ricketts-Griffin fortune came from founding an online brokerage company called TD Ameritrade, which is now called The Charles Schwab Corporation.

The Ricketts family – including Cubs chairman Tom and his three siblings Peter, Laura, and Todd – and both of his parents have shared ownership of the baseball side since 2009 through their family trust.

It is also reported that the Ricketts’ have shown interest in Chelsea beforehand, having made an offer to buy the club in 2018. The family have also been linked with a making a bid for AC Milan in recent years.

They have enjoyed success in the last six years in Major League Baseball, overseeing just the third World Series win in their history in 2016.

They have also completed a $1bn revamp of the team’s home stadium called Wrigley Field, which was originally built in 1914.