Saudi Media boss and Chelsea fan Mohamed Alkhereiji is convinced they have the spending power to match the past success of Roman Abramovich.
Goal says Saudi Media – the biggest media group in the Middle East – are hopeful of completing the takeover of Chelsea.
The interest is fueled by Alkhereiji, who is also the CEO of its parent company Engineer Holding Group – founded by his father Abdulelah Alkhereiji.
He obtained an executive master’s degree of business administration from the London-based Business School, formerly Cass and previously worked as an analyst for Deutsche Bank in London.
Alkhereiji is a fan of Chelsea, and this is his driving interest behind his attempt to buy the club and invest in its infrastructure.
It is outlined that a major part of their plans to buy the club is their willingness to invest in redeveloping Stamford Bridge and the club’s academy at Cobham Training Centre, as well as the women’s team.
Saudi Media generate a reported £770million per annum while any attempt to buy the West London club is likely to be supported by a consortium of other private backers from Saudi Arabia.
It is the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge that is at the heart of their charm offensive, with costs of upgrading the stadium said to cost in the region of £1.5billion.
Alkhereiji was behind the new, state-of-the-art stadium in Mrsool Park for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr and it is suggested this will be a key factor in convincing the Blues that he is the right investor.
The report also claims that Saudi Media would prioritise securing new contracts for Chelsea’s first-team players, with Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta among those who are due to become free agents this July.