Saudi Media Group makes £2.7bn bid for Chelsea
The biggest media group in the Middle East Saudi Media Group has made a £2.7bn offer to scoop up Chelsea as the football club races to find a new benefactor following Roman Abramovich’s sanction by the UK government.
The sanctions block any new money going into the Premier League club, effectively forcing Abramovich to offload Chelsea or face administration.
The West London club have consistently spent more than they earn – last season Chelsea made a loss of £156m – but have been propped up by loans from Abramovich totalling £1.5bn since 2003.
Following last week’s fallout, phone giant Three suspended their club sponsorship, worth £40m per annum.
Meanwhile, Saudi Media is owned by Mohamed Alkhereiji, who is an avid Chelsea fan and leading a private consortium for the club, according to reports by CBS Sports.
CBS Sports also reported that Alkhereiji has no direct links to the government, and is also the chief exec of Saudi Media’s parent company Engineer Holding Group – founded by his father Abdulelah Alkhereiji.