The Ricketts-led group revealed on Friday that it has abandoned its effort to purchase the Premier League team Chelsea, which is being marketed for sale by its owner Roman Abramovich.

The owners of the Chicago Clubs and their partners have chosen not to submit a final bid for the Blues, as it is believed that the consortium members will not be able to agree on the final composition of their bid.

In a cash-only offer to purchase the Blues, club owners Tom and Laura Ricketts teamed up with US billionaires Ken Griffin and Dan Gilbert.

The Ricketts-led company has withdrawn its bid, which was to have been submitted to New York merchant bank The Raine Group on Thursday.

A statement from the Ricketts family stated, “The Ricketts-Griffin-Gilbert consortium has chosen, after serious thought, not to submit a final bid for Chelsea FC.”

As soon as the offer was accepted, it became increasingly obvious that some problems couldn’t be solved because of the unique dynamics of the sales process.

We greatly admire Chelsea and its supporters, and we wish the new owners well.

Due to old correspondence from family patriarch Joe Ricketts, the Blues supporters have criticized the Ricketts’ bid for Chelsea.

In 2019, when emails were revealed, Joe Ricketts, who was not involved in the family’s bid for the London club, was charged with Islamophobia.

Later, he expressed regret for his remarks, and the family issued a statement last month stating that it “strongly rejects any form of hate.”

Fans had organized a modest protest at Stamford Bridge, but reports claimed that the controversy had little bearing on Ricketts’ decision to cancel his bid.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian billionaire Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2. He was subsequently the target of UK sanctions.

Chelsea has been granted special permission from the government to continue operating, albeit under strict conditions.

Despite having already promised to eliminate Chelsea’s $ 2 billion ($1.5 billion) debt, Abramovich will not benefit from the sale of the club.