At least 10 serious buyers have emerged to purchase Chelsea from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich after he put the club up for sale earlier this month.
The 55-year-old moved relinquished ‘stewardship and care’ of the Blues to the club’s charitable foundation before announcing that he was looking for a buyer for the Stamford Bridge outfit.
The decision came after calls for Abramovich to be banned from owning Chelsea due to his links with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, who has pushed for the nation to invade Ukraine and cause mass destruction in the European country.
And Abramovich’s hopes of a quick sale have been handed a major boost.
According to Goal, a Saudi private consortium, led by Saudi Media, have made contact with Raine Group – who are in charge of finding a buyer for the club - and registered their interest in purchasing Chelsea.
They have revealed that there are over 10 other parties who have registered an interest in the reigning Champions League winners, whilst others remain interested and are keeping a keen eye on what is going on.
ESPN have also revealed that New York Jets owner Robert ‘Woody’ Johnson is preparing to bid for the Blues as well and is keen to acquire the Premier League side.
Johnson, too, has made contact with Raine Group and wants to follow in the footsteps of the Glazers family (Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United ) and Stan Kroenke (LA Rams and Arsenal ) by owning a top English club as well as an NFL side.
It is believed that Abramovich will demand £3billion for the club that he purchased in 2003 and has transformed into one of the best sides in Europe on several occasions.
He has won 18 major trophies since taking over and his successor will have a terrific squad and manager for the foreseeable future.
Some Chelsea fans are understandably saddened by the news that their owner is looking to sell the club as soon as possible as he has caused an immense change at Stamford Bridge due to his investment, but former Crystal Palace Simon Jordan is pleased to see Abramovich go.
The 53-year-old spoke on talkSPORT about the direct impact the businessman has had on English football and how he has made the Premier League money-orientated, he said: “With due respect, with the exception of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich was one of the worst things that could have happened to English football.
“We were on a direction of travel that was already upwards, our Premier League was already flying, we already had broadcasters throwing money at us, hand over fist.
“What you did [Chelsea] was you created hyperinflation. You might have broken up the duopoly, you might have stopped the powerhouses that were Manchester United and Arsenal for a period of time. That was going to happen anyway because ownership models were changing.
“What you did was change the landscape by making football so financially unviable for your own reasons.
“People look at these people buying football clubs like Man City, like Newcastle, like Chelsea, and look at the ownership.
“These people aren’t buying these football clubs because they love the football clubs, they’re buying them because they want to get a life insurance policy against political leanings.
“What have we got now? A generation of players who have no character, no backbone, no substance, get paid far too much money, the immorality of football comes up for question and I think it’s a tragedy.”
It remains to be seen who Abramovich agrees to sell Chelsea to and whether the backlash from a Saudi-led consortium purchasing Newcastle will influence his decision.
