Lewis Hamilton explains his background in football and why he wants to be part of the bid to buy the club.
Lewis Hamilton has spoken of his excitement at joining a consortium in a bid to buy Chelsea, calling it "one of the greatest opportunities" as Formula 1's most successful driver aims to help the club move forwards.
Sky News reported on Thursday that Hamilton is one of the investors backing the attempt to acquire the west London club.
Serena Williams is one of the backers of the consortium.
Hamilton spoke to the media for the first time since his involvement was made public.
He told reporters at the GP that he was a sporting fan.
It is the biggest sport in the world and one of the most successful, and one of the biggest clubs in the world. This is one of the greatest opportunities to be a part of something and I was amazed when I heard about it.
Lewis Hamilton explained his and Serena Williams motives after committing millions of pounds to the bid to buy the club.
Hamilton has said many times before that he is a fan of the two teams.
He told Sky Sports that there is always a crazy rivalry between teams in sports.
I love seeing people excel, I have been to quite a few games of both the Blues and the Gunners, and there has been a rivalry in the family since I was a child.
This is an incredible opportunity to be a part of the biggest sport in the world and one of the biggest teams in the world.
He said that he has been a football fan since he was a kid, playing for four to 17 teams every year. I have been to many games.
I used to play football with all the kids and a few of my close friends when I was young, and I really wanted to fit in. There was only one kid of colour that I was.
Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman provides further details about Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams.
When I was younger, I switched between Spurs and Man United, and my sister punched me in the arm when I told her I had to support the other team.
At five years old I became a supporter of Arsenal, but my uncle Terry is a big fan of the Blues, so I have been to many games with him to watch them play.
Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale, and one of the three remaining bids is from Broughton.
Hamilton said he and Williams were constantly in touch after he was contacted by Broughton about the opportunity.
The two of them are very close and Serena is a phenomenal athlete. I told her that I was going to be a part of it and she decided to join.
Everyone was aware of it when I heard about it in the news. Sir Martin spoke to me on the phone and explained to me his goals if they were able to win the bid that was very exciting and aligned with my values.
Natalie Pinkham, Naomi Schiff, and Paul Di Resta are looking ahead to the GP from Imola.
As a kid, I remember getting the books with trading cards, filling them with pennies and trading them for sweets with other kids.
When I was younger, I tried out for a team but ended up following racing.
Being a part of the team is the most exciting thing for me.
Hamilton said that they were trying to acquire a team and move it forward.
He explained that the community is what makes a football team.
They have been leading in their work in D&I, becoming more diverse and progressive. Our goal is to continue the work they have already done, having more of an impact and engaging more with the community.
They have done a lot in anti-racial campaigns. There are a lot of core values that are aligned with mine and I hope I can be more involved over time.
It is understood that Hamilton and Williams would not have a say in football matters, although the seven-time F1 champion is keen to get more involved once his racing career is over.
He said that this isn't his first business venture or investment and that he won't be as hands-on as some of the other people.
There are lots of opportunities to get involved more and more over time, which is exciting, and particularly beyond racing, wanting to help with the success they have already had.
The captain of the club confronted a fan at the end of the game.
Hamilton was asked about the recent financial losses.
He said that the investment to be a part of something as big as this is exciting. It is a business venture.
Through the discussions we have had, how the team plan to manage the team moving forward and improve that, making sure we slowly decrease those losses and turn it into a profit-making organisation is going to take a lot of work.
The group is made up of lifetime fans of the club and others who have come to it later in life. There are no members of that consortium who are in the mindset of losing. I think we can do better than what we are doing.
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