Ken Bates: Outspoken owner of Chelsea and Leeds who was loved and loathed

Open menu

OneFootball's home page

Settings

Evening Standard

11 July 2026

Ken Bates turned

Chelsea

from a second-tier also-rans in a ramshackle stadium into a top-flight force, and made both friends and enemies along the way

Ken Bates

was one of English football’s most controversial characters.

The former

and Leeds owner, businessman and administrator was never far from the headlines throughout his 48 years in the game.

Bates, who has died at the age of 94, was loved and loathed.

Out-spoken, anti-establishment, often offensive and sometimes outrageous, he pushed the boundaries and hogged the spotlight, but, for reasons good and bad, left an indelible impression.

During 21 years as

chairman he transformed them from second-tier also-rans in a ramshackle stadium into a top-flight force, rebuilt Stamford Bridge and established the

Village complex before selling to Roman Abramovich in 2003.

Bates had a less successful eight-year reign as owner of Leeds, where he failed to replicate the success he had enjoyed at

When he departed in 2013 he had made many more enemies than friends.

He was accused of shady dealings throughout his working life, which was punctuated by bitter, long-running feuds. Settlements in and out of court were the norm.

Divisive, bombastic, arrogant, ruthless and self-serving – Bates was described as them all, and more, across five decades of notoriety. But he also got things done.

He refused to be bulldozed into submission by property developers in his early years at Stamford Bridge and formed the

Pitch Owners to safeguard the ground’s future.

Lower league clubs enjoy a greater share of the Premier League’s television revenue thanks to Bates’ campaigning, while he actively opposed racism and did much to help eradicate Chelsea’s thriving hooligan element in the 1980s.

He built an electric perimeter fence around the Stamford Bridge pitch, but was refused permission to turn on the electricity by the local council.

He spent five years on the Football League management committee from 1986 and was an active member of the Football Association executive in the 1990s.

Ken Bates in 1985

In 1997, he was tasked by the FA to end all the dithering over plans to rebuild Wembley and was appointed chairman of Wembley National Stadium Ltd.

But he quit his Football League role after

were fined £105,000 for alleged illegal payments to players and resigned from Wembley National Stadium Ltd, citing a lack of progress and support from the board.

Bates later said the best way to move the Wembley project forward was to shoot the Minister for Sport at the time, Kate Hoey.

Born in London on December 4, 1931, Kenneth William Bates was brought up by his grandparents on a council estate in Ealing. His mother died when he was still a baby and his father absconded.

He was born with a club foot, which required numerous operations, grew up as a QPR fan and, after heading north, had initial success helping to run a quarry business in Manchester.

He began to build an impenetrable business portfolio, making big profits out of ready-mixed cement and dairy farming.

He invested in Australia’s sugar cane industry and in property development in South Africa and, it was reported, bought his first Bentley aged 23.

Bates made millions from a failed building project in the British Virgin Islands in the early 1970s and also founded a bank, the Irish Trust Bank, which later had its licence revoked after lengthy investigations by Ireland’s financial authorities.

Ken Bates with Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo and the FA Cup trophy in 1997

He had been chairman of Oldham for five years in the 1960s and then co-owner of Wigan before famously buying

for £1 in 1982.

Less than 9,000 turned up for his first game as chairman at Stamford Bridge, but in his last, in 2003, a full house saw

secure a place in the Champions League.

Bates was involved in a bitter fall-out with major

investor Matthew Harding and was widely censured for remarks made about him after he had been killed in a helicopter crash in 1996.

He still walked away from Stamford Bridge a hero to many Blues fans, but, following his purchase of another fallen giant Leeds in 2005, Bates won few admirers.

His stormy reign at Leeds was notable for more covert dealings, offshore companies and court cases.

He lost a damages claim for harassment brought against him by former director Melvyn Levi and his wife, put the club in administration before buying them back and presided over relegation to the third tier for the only time in their history. He also waged war with protesting fans.

He finally sold Leeds to Middle East-based investment bank Gulf Finance House in 2013 for £22million and retired to his tax-haven home in Monaco.

Bates, untypically, disappeared from public life relatively quietly.

He had been working on his autobiography, it has been reported, with third wife Susannah and various journalists for nearly 20 years.

Such a tome would be a legal minefield for publishers, but, even if it never goes to print, Bates will not be forgotten.

Former Chelsea and Leeds owner Ken Bates dies aged 94

The Independent

Man Utd ‘finalising’ £50m Chelsea transfer as Éderson move breaks down

The Football Faithful

Fabrizio Romano confirms Man United set to announce Karl Darlow and Andrey Santos deals

caughtoffside

Leeds United extend Alex Cairns contract to 2028 amid goalkeeper changes

OffsAIde

Leeds United submit plans for Elland Road fan park as rebuild continues

Predicting which clubs the summer's biggest free agents will sign for

There are still some massive names who are set to become free agents in the summer, with some high-profile deals due to expire at the end of next month.As speculation...

Tottenham: Why James Maddison was not awarded a penalty against Leeds as Premier League issue statement

Spurs midfielder denied a big moment on his return from injuryThe Premier League has explained why Tottenham were not awarded a penalty in their draw against Leeds.As the clock ticked...

Bento's howler delays CR7's first title in Saudi Arabia 😱

An ugly mistake by Brazilian goalkeeper Bento prevented Al-Nassr from winning the Saudi League title this Tuesday.Cristiano Ronaldo’s team was leading 1-0 until the 53rd minute of the second half,...