Why Lewis Hamilton should stay loyal to his own team, says Paul Canoville

Ex-Chelsea winger Paul Canoville says Arsenal fan Lewis Hamilton should stay loyal to his own team and has backed Todd Boehly’s bid to buy the club.

But the allegiances of the seven-time F1 champion and 23-time Grand Slam champion are a problem for him.

“Lewis is an Arsenal fan and that’s a fact,” Canoville said in a tweet.

He added that “Serena is on record saying she supports Real Madrid”.

“I will always support Lewis in everything he does in F1, he is the greatest driver ever in my opinion,” said Canoville. “And, as with Serena, he is a phenomenal icon for black achievement and civil rights.

“With football though I think he should stay loyal to his own team.”

Last week Hamilton announced he had pledged financial backing to Broughton’s consortium, describing being part of a possible takeover of Chelsea as “a dream”.

But Hamilton also declared his support for Arsenal, saying: “When I was young, I wanted to fit in and all the kids supported different teams. I remember switching between teams and my sister punching me and saying you have to support Arsenal, so then I became a supporter of Arsenal.”

In a lengthy tweet, Canoville gave his views on the remaining bidders and said that Broughton wanted celebrities involved in diversity and inclusion programmes at Stamford Bridge.

But Canoville, who has met all the interested parties, says the Boehly-led bid is “by far the best fit for Chelsea and our fans”.

American billionaire Boehly, co-owner of LA Dodgers, “won over” Canoville when he spoke of his “huge passion for social impact around community outreach”.

Three bids remain on the table to buy the club, including one British and two American consortiums.