Ricketts family joined by billionaire Dan Gilbert in bid to buy Chelsea as they release eight-point pledge to fans

THE Ricketts family, one of the frontrunners to buy Chelsea, have been joined by billionaire Dan Gilbert in their bid to take over the club.

Gilbert, who heads the Rock Entertainment Group, already owns the NBA side Cleveland Cavaliers.

He is the third partner to join the bid, with the Ricketts’ already having joined forces with hedge fund tycoon, Ken Griffin.

As reported by The Guardian, it is not yet clear who will be the majority shareholder if this bid was to be successful.

But the news comes just hours after the Ricketts released an eight-point pledge in a bid to get Chelsea fans back on side.

Blues supporters protested the Ricketts’ potential takeover of the club ahead of their game against Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

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They have come under fire after leaked emails from the father of Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts saw him say Muslims are ‘my natural enemy’.

But now the family have released an eight-point pledge to try and prevent further backlash.

And among those pledges includes the promise to never join a European Super League.

Other points include commitments on diversity, investment, club colours, the crest and Stamford Bridge.

As reported by PA, the full eight-point pledge is as follows:

1. Make no change to the club’s name, badge, and crest, or Chelsea blue, without the consent of supporters.
2. Never participate in a European Super League and always protect the integrity and heritage of Chelsea F.C.
3. Commit the resources necessary across all levels of the club to continue winning trophies, including investing in the first team, experienced football leadership and the Academy.
4. Put inclusion and diversity at the heart of the club and fight against any form of discrimination or inequality.
5. Create an Advisory Committee with diverse representation to ensure our decisions are informed by: a former men’s and women’s first team player, members of the CST and Chelsea Pitch Owners, and influential committee leaders.
6. Explore every option to redevelop Stamford Bridge and do everything in our power to keep playing in this historic stadium.
7. Match the current commitment to Chelsea F.C. Women and increase the number of women’s matches played at Stamford Bridge.
8. Continue the vital charitable work of the Chelsea Foundation.

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The Chelsea Supporters Trust came out on Saturday and condemned the Americans’ approach.

A statement read: “Last week, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust stated that the Ricketts family must urgently and publicly address supporter concerns – especially with regard to inclusivity, given both past and recent statements by members of the family.”

And it went on to add: “At present, it is clear that our membership neither supports nor has confidence in the Ricketts family’s bid for the club. This is reflective of wider concerns articulated by large, vocal sections of Chelsea’s supporter base.

“The CST Board is guided by our membership, and thus we do not currently believe it is in the best interests of our members for the Ricketts family’s bid to succeed.”

Tom Ricketts responded with a statement of his own following the leaked emails.

He said: “Over the past fortnight, our bid team has met with several supporter groups to explain our vision for Chelsea Football Club.

“In those meetings, and by letter to all groups, we have shared a set of specific commitments we will make to fans, if our bid is successful.

“We believe these are far-reaching and certainly include an absolute commitment on the part of the Ricketts Family and the bid team to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of the club.

“We look forward to more meetings – including with the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust – over the coming days and to making a public reiteration of our values and commitments.”

Four interested parties remain in the bidding process to buy the European champions and are expected to pay around £2.5billion to get the nod from the US bank brokering the sale.

All four are due to travel to London this week to lay out their visions for the club to current chairman Bruce Buck and directors Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk