Lewis Hamilton, Serena Williams Part of Bid for Chelsea Football Club

Reports emerged last week that seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is part of a large consortium, which also includes tennis great Serena Williams, to purchase Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League.

The consortium to puchase the soccer team is being led by Sir Martin Broughton and the group wants to take over the club that is being sold by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, following revelations of his connections to Vladimir Putin. Chelsea is one of the top teams in the world. It is currently third in the 20-team English Premier League standings.

“We were contacted and Sir Martin took time to speak to me on the phone and explain his and his team’s goals, if they were to win the bid, which was incredibly exciting,” said Hamilton. “And it was very much aligned with my values and again, as a kid, I remember collecting all the stickers and books to trade cards. I remember filling all of those up as a kid and collecting all those pennies and trading them for sweets with the other kids for the most valuable ones.

"Ultimately I’m a sporting fan. It’s the biggest sport in the world and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world and one of the most successful. When I heard about this opportunity I was like ‘wow’, this is one of the greatest opportunities to be part of something so great.”

Hamilton, 37, said that he's not looking at a career change just yet.

"Well, at the moment my primary focus is continuing in Formula 1, and this isn't my first business venture or investment," Hamilton said. "But yeah, it’s something I'm excited about, I would say early on I’m for sure not going to be able to be hands on as the other people that are a part of it. But again, we haven't won (the bid) yet. But if we do, there's lots of opportunity to get involved more and more over time, which is super exciting."