Saudi Media Group’s bid to buy Chelsea could face a stumbling block due to a potential conflict of interest with Newcastle United’s majority stakeholders PIF, according to Goal’s Nizaar Kinsella.
The Saudi Media group, which is led by Mohamed Alkhereiji, have reportedly made a £2.7billion bid to buy Chelsea. This seems to make them the current highest-bidders, at least based on recent reports.
The highest-bidders will not necessarily become the eventual winners in this case, though, as any sale will need approvals from the Raine group as Chelsea’s representatives, the Premier League, and the UK government.
Many, including Gary Neville, are pessimistic that the Saudi-based consortium will get the approvals needed.]
The most difficult task for the Saudi Media group is arguably proving the lack of any financial link with the Saudi Arabian state and its royal family members.
Goal correspondent Kinsella highlighted exactly this potential issue.
“I think maybe their great detraction is that there are parts they own that are not fully private,” Kinsella told the Football Daily podcast about the Saudi Media group.
“So [in] Saudi Media, there is absolutely no state involvement. Then there is a parent company above it called Engineering Holding Group, which is also under another parent group called MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Centre. Note: Kinsella actually mistakenly called it MBS).
“[MBC] is an investment fund and a massive, dominant media group in the Middle East, and they have a little bit of Saudi government involvement.
“If you follow the paper trail up the tree, eventually you have Saudi [state] money. But I think that’s just how businesses operate in Saudi Arabia.
“So a direct government backing is not true, but if you follow the money around the company, you can eventually find public money around and [the state’s] PIF, the owners of Newcastle .
“There is potentially a conflict of interest if people see it that way. I actually don’t think that’s enough [to disqualify the Saudi Media group from buying Chelsea].
“It’s less controversial than [PIF’s bid] for Newcastle because it’s not directly linked to the Saudi Arabian royal family.”
According to Gulf News, the MBC Group acquired a minority stake in Al Arabia, which is part of the Engineering Holding Group, in 2020.
As the Saudi Arabian state owns the majority stake in the MBC Group, this is likely what Kinsella was referring to when he described it as a possible conflict of interest.
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