Chelsea Football Club remains up for sale and there is yet to be a purchase since current owner Roman Abramovich decided to put the Blues on the market.
But following a number of American business owners being linked with taking over the club as part of a consortium, the Saudi Media Group have now launched their own official bid as proceedings heat up.
Abramovich values the club at around £3 billion but the joint-stock company has now launched its own ambitious bid of £2.7bn in an attempt to become the new owners at Stamford Bridge.
The global media house is the biggest media group in the middle east, but who exactly are they and how much are they worth?
Here is all you need to know about the Saudi Media Group following their proposed bid to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
Will the Saudi Media Group’s £2.7bn be enough to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) is a joint-stock company based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is best known for publishing prints and distributing various publications.
Since its formation in 1972, SRMG has become the biggest media group in the middle east and generate a reported £770 million per year, making them a suitable investor for the club.
The group is currently run by Mohamed Alkhereiji, who just so happens to be a Chelsea fan, which would be good news for the Blues to have someone with an affiliation to the club to take over.
Because of Alkhereiji’s Chelsea connection, he has outlined ambitions to redevelop Stamford Bridge in order to increase its current 41,000 capacity in west London.
As well as this, developing the club’s academy at their Cobham Training Centre, as well as the women’s team, is part of the plans.
Encouragement can be taken from the fact that Alkhereiji was behind the construction of the new, state-of-the-art stadium in Mrsool Park for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, which stands at a capacity of 25,000.
Alkhereiji is also the CEO of SRMG’s parent company Engineer Holding Group, which was founded by his father Abdulelah Alkhereiji.
The Cass Business School graduate is already linked with football clubs in Saudi Arabia and has ties with Al-Nassr and Al Hilal, the latter of which the Blues played in their recent FIFA Club World Cup trophy triumph.
A big advantage in this current situation is that SRMG has no direct links to the Saudi government, who have come under heavy scrutiny following their abuse of human rights.
Following Newcastle ’s successful takeover by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund in October, which has turned the Magpies into the richest club in the world, foundations have been laid in the Premier League with owners from the middle east.
And SRMG will be hoping to add themselves to that list with the takeover of Chelsea.
