Chelsea takeover: Saudi Media proposal includes contract renewals & Stamford Bridge development

Saudi Media are hopeful of winning the race to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich and have an in-depth proposal which includes contract renewals for Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger.

As many as 20 buyers have signalled their intent to bid for Chelsea. The UK government are in charge of the sale process after sanctioning current owner Roman Abramovich in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are hopeful of getting a sale through in the next six weeks.

While a number of American-backed consortiums have attracted most of the attention, Goal report that Saudi Media are hopeful that they have the most attractive proposal.

Before Abramovich's forced dismissal as club director, he had been keen to ensure he sold the club to a buyer with a concrete long-term plan to maintain Chelsea's success, and it si claimed that Saudi Media have plenty of ideas to that extent.

Among their intentions is to renew the contracts of Azpilicueta and Rudiger, who could otherwise leave as free agents, finally complete the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge and continue the investment in both the academy and women's teams to ensure both remain competitive.

Leading the Saudi Media bid is Mohamed Alkhereiji, CEO of parent company Engineer Holding Group and a known Chelsea fan. The company are the biggest media corporation in Saudi Arabia and turns over £770m annually.

The group already invest in Saudi sides Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, building a new state-of-the-art stadium for the latter, and Saudi Media plan to use their building experience to tackle the £1.5bn redevelopment of Stamford Bridge.

There are also plans to attract bigger and better sponsorship deals to the club, using their connections in marketing and advertising across the world. Saudi Media are not concerned by Three's suspension of their sponsorship deal as they feel they could find something more lucrative.

One potential stumbling block could be Chelsea's reluctance to work under a 'politically sensitive' group. Saudi Media had been tipped to fall into that category because of Newcastle United's links to the Saudi state, but this group do not expect such issues.

Saudi Media are a private company with no ties to the Saudi royal family and pride themselves on employing a large number of women in an effort to improve the country's human rights situation.

The group are confident that the Premier League would not dismiss their bid and they are keen to fight their way to the front of the queue.

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