Arsenal fan Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams part of consortium to buy Chelsea

Sir Lewis Hamilton will play an active role in diversity and racism issues as part of the Josh Harris and David Blitzer consortium if they succeed in their bid to buy Chelsea.

It emerged on Thursday that two of the world’s biggest sports stars, Hamilton, who is an Arsenal supporter, and Serena Williams, are part of the Harris and Blitzer bid that had, until now, been fronted by Sir Martin Broughton.

Telegraph Sport understands that Hamilton and Williams already knew associates of Harris and Blitzer before their bid for Chelsea was submitted and that the pair have been part of the group from the start of the process, rather than being drafted in at the last minute as bidders wait to hear who the club will choose as their preferred buyer.

A report claimed that seven-time Formula One champion Hamilton and 23-time grand slam winner Williams have pledged £10million each to the Chelsea bid, but that figure has not been confirmed and is not considered to be completely accurate.

A spokesperson for Hamilton said: “We can confirm that Lewis has joined the Sir Martin Broughton bid, however the financial figure reported in the Sky article isn’t accurate.”

Both Hamilton and Williams have started investing in a number of different ventures and their decision to get involved in the Chelsea bidding is seen as the latest step in the next phase of their careers and lives.

One of Hamilton’s main interests in becoming an investor in Chelsea would be to advise on and promote diversity issues, which he has already worked hard on within Formula One. The Hamilton Commission was launched to address the underrepresentation of black people in UK motorsport.

Hamilton spoke out on LBGTQ+ rights during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and won the 2021 race wearing a Pride flag helmet. Williams has spoken out on racism issues and made public her desire to invest in diversity.

Diversity issues have become a significant part of the Chelsea bidding process, with the Ricketts family facing campaigns against their offer over historical anti-muslim emails before pulling out of the race. The club’s first black footballer Paul Canoville, who was racially abused by his own fans, met with representatives of all of the shortlisted bidders.

Sources insist that Hamilton is aware the fact he is an Arsenal fan will attract attention around his involvement in a consortium bidding to buy their London rivals Chelsea. But his allegiance as a supporter is not expected to count against the Harris and Blitzer bid and is not viewed as being significant.

Despite their huge global profiles, the investments of Hamilton and Williams in the Harris and Blitzer bid are comparatively small and are part of a large and wide-ranging consortium.

Canada’s Rogers family, John Arnold, Taiwan’s Tsai family and Alejandro Santo Domingo have now all been named as being part of the Harris and Blitzer bid, which also includes Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe.

Harris and Blitzer’s company, HBSE, would hold the controlling stake in Chelsea if they are successful and the group’s initial plan would be to keep much of the status quo in place, which would suggest they would look to retain both director Marina Granovskaia and chairman Bruce Buck - at least in the short-term.

The American pair are confident they have offered Chelsea and Raine, the bank in charge of the club’s sale, the required assurances and evidence that they will divest their shares in Crystal Palace if their bid is successful.

One of the group’s rivals, Stephen Pagliuca, is also positive that his stake in Atalanta will not be an issue for his bid to buy Chelsea. Uefa rules prohibit individuals owning controlling shares in two clubs that could compete in the same competition.

The controlling stake in Chelsea would be split between Pagliuca and his partner Larry Tenebaum, while it is believed the nature of their consortium would mean that his personal shareholding would fall below 50 per cent, meaning that he would not have the single decisive vote in both the Blues and Atalanta.

Granovksia and Buck this week met representatives of Chelsea’s supporters to update them on how the operating licence is impacting their running of the club and to offer reassurance that they are doing everything in their power to make sure the best-possible preferred bidder is selected.