A private consortium of the Saudi Media Group led by Mohamed Alkhereiji has reportedly made a £2.7bn offer to buy Chelsea, according to CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs.
Alkhereiji, who is reportedly a Chelsea fan, is the CEO of Saudi Media’s parent company Engineering Holding Group, which was founded by his father Abdulelah.
The bid, Jacobs highlighted, does not have any direct links to the Saudi Arabian government.
This will be important since Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund already owns 80 percent of Newcastle United.
Jacobs mentioned that Mohammed bin Khalid Al Saud, who is a member of the Saudi royal family, has played a part in helping Alkhereiji find funding and partner but he himself does not provide any financial backing.
As Goal reported recently, the Saudi Media group is also confident that they are not “politically sensitive” given their group consists of private investors.
It looks promising so far, but providing evidence of a lack of any link to the Saudi Arabian government still could prove challenging.
Jacobs mentioned that “there is a feeling” that Turki Al-Sheikh, an advisor at the Saudi Arabian court, could be involved if the bid is accepted.
This claim is currently being denied, but this type of name will raise questions over the potential Saudi Arabian government’s influence, the journalist emphasised.
Al-Sheikh is a well-known figure in Saudi Arabian football, having previously been the chairman of Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation. He is also the owner and chairman of UD Almeria, who play in Spain’s second division.
Alkhereiji is the only name mentioned in any reports regarding the Saudi Media group’s Chelsea bid so far, and it remains unclear how many people are involved in the reported consortium.
Jacobs also believes that the sale process will likely take longer if the Saudi Media Group becomes the preferred bidder.
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