LONDON (AP) — Ken Bates, the former Chelsea owner and chairman who bought the club for just a pound in 1982, has died. He was 94.
Chelsea confirmed the death in a statement Saturday, saying Bates “passed away peacefully in Monaco this morning surrounded by his wife and family.”
"The club sends our heartfelt condolences to Ken’s wife Suzannah, the rest of his family and his friends. Ken’s determination to fight for Chelsea when times were tough, and drive the team on to winning trophies will never be forgotten.”
Bates bought Chelsea when it was laden with debt and struggling in the English second division — hence the price of just one pound — but injected money into the club and oversaw a return to the top flight in 1984.
He went on to become the club's third-longest serving chairman, holding the position for 22 years. He also became one of the English game's most well-known characters because of a personality that Chelsea described as “colourful, outspoken and controversial.”
He sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2003 for 140 million pounds (then $233 million). He took over Leeds as owner and chairman in 2005, selling the club in 2012.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Pickleball Read morePickleball
coastsiderebel said:
Sad to see it go. This was one of the first restaurants my wife and I dined at when we moved to Pacifica in 2015.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.