Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton join bid to buy Chelsea FC

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and tennis superstar Serena Williams may soon be proud owners of Premier League side Chelsea FC. The two sporting legends have reportedly joined a consortium that is putting together a bid to take over the club from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Last month, the UK government imposed sanctions on a number of Russian companies and high-profile individuals who are known to have close ties to President Vladimir Putin. The move comes in the wake of Russia's invasion of the Ukraine, which has been labelled as a "special military operation."

Abramovich was among the individuals whose UK assets were frozen, and Chelsea FC found itself in limbo. UK Parliament agreed to let the Russian sell the club, in order to allow it to continue to operate under new ownership. This is where the two athletes come in. Hamilton and Williams are reportedly joining a group led by Sir Martin Broughton, who is keen on making an offer to purchase the reigning Champions League title holders.

The asking price is in the vicinity of £3 billion, meaning that a number of individuals are expected to pitch in to pool enough funding to make a bid. According to Marca, Hamilton and Williams have each pledged around £10 million. That's a lot of money, but a long way from that asking price.

As such, the consortium will likely need several other wealthy investors, making the ownership structure rather complicated. It remains to be seen if the club will be keen on accepting such a bid.

Hamilton is currently still an active F1 driver for the Mercedes AMG F1 team, and is seeking his eighth Drivers' World Championship title. He is known to be an Arsenal FC fan, which raised a lot of eyebrows when his interest in Chelsea hit the news. Meanwhile, Williams is not a known Chelsea fan either, but she has dabbled in a number of businesses, which may explain why she is keen on making this investment.

UFC legend Conor McGrgor was one of the first to express his desire to buy the club when the news of its sale first came out. However, the athletes are facing some tough competition from some groups and individuals who have more experience and more funding than they do. The current shortlist includes the people who own other sports franchises such as the LA Dodgers, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Celtics.