Saudi consortium join 10-bid race for Chelsea

Roman Abramovich has set a £3billion valuation for the club.

Chelsea FC would soon be changing hands. The pressure on Roman Abramovich eventually grew, and the Russian oligarch agreed to sell the club. Abramovich saw his efforts at keeping the club by proxy thwarted and bowed to pressure to let go of the club.

The Russian is waiting for the right bid to arrive. Every bid for Chelsea has not met his valuation of the club. With the war between Russia and Ukraine not abating, Russian assets everywhere on the globe have come under attack, with heavy sanctions hitting the country.

The sale of Chelsea is a fallout of the war in Ukraine. A better bid for Chelsea may be on the way as a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium has joined the mix.

New bidders join the race for Chelsea

Chelsea have become one of the most attractive clubs in England, thanks to the heavy investment made in the club by Roman Abramovich. In the 19 years that the Russian owned Chelsea, the club has won every trophy on parade. In that period, Liverpool and Manchester United are the only English clubs to have won a continental trophy. It makes Chelsea the most successful club in that period.

Abramovich has no choice but to sell, and he has already beaten back one bid as too small for the club. There are at least ten bidders in the battle for the club. A Saudi Arabia-backed consortium has joined the mix, and it changes the complexion of the bids.

It is no surprise that the quest to sell Chelsea has generated plenty of interest. The Saudi-backed consortium has taken the bid a notch higher. Should the British government allow the consortium to buy Chelsea, critics believe it would smack of hypocrisy considering the poor human rights record of the middle east country.

According to Goal, the consortium indicated their interest in buying Chelsea through the Raine Group.

Other buyers interested in Chelsea

The individual backers of the consortium are currently unknown. The consortium is led by Saudi Media predominantly associated with the pan-Arab broadcasting market.

Saudi Media is known for funding sports advertising, branding and media globally and have offices in Dubai, UAE and have their headquarters in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Media-backed group is one of at least ten serious buyers. According to reports, the US-Swiss consortium is in pole position to land Chelsea. Roman Abramovich values Chelsea at £3 billion, and the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wysscome short of that valuation by Abramovich. Reports suggest that the Russian would accept a figure close to the £3 billion valuation by March 15.

Other interested parties include Turkish tycoon Muhsin Bayrak.