Chelsea's ownership group has formally tabled a nine-figure offer for a featureless gray silhouette after co-owner Todd Boehly exhausted his daily attempts to identify the mystery player.
LONDON — Chelsea's ownership group has officially tabled a £105 million transfer bid for a featureless gray silhouette after co-owner Todd Boehly exhausted his six attempts to identify the mystery player on a daily internet trivia game.
Boehly, representing the Clearlake Capital consortium, reportedly instructed the club's legal team to immediately draft an eight-year, heavily amortized contract for the unknown athlete. Front office sources indicated the American billionaire was convinced to authorize the record-breaking fee after his third incorrect guess revealed the anonymous player was a 28-year-old midfielder who had once featured in Ligue 1.
The formal offer was submitted directly to the BBC Sport webmaster, who is believed to hold the player's exclusive registration rights until the countdown timer resets at midnight.
We do not know his name, his preferred foot, or whether he is currently active in professional football, but any asset capable of evading our proprietary scouting algorithms for six consecutive guesses belongs at Stamford Bridge.
Rival Premier League executives have quietly expressed frustration with the move, noting that Chelsea's strategy of aggressively purchasing anyone who appears in an online brain-teaser is further inflating the global transfer market. The club previously spent £62 million in January on a pixelated crest from a similar quiz, which has yet to make a first-team appearance.
Chelsea currently sits sixth in the Premier League table and will face Aston Villa on Sunday, assuming the club's administrative staff can successfully register the question-mark graphic with the Football Association before kickoff.