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Stephen Pagliuca has pledged to keep Chelsea out of any new plans for a European Super League should his bid for the club prove to be a success.
Pagliuca is one of the interested parties in buying Chelsea, with the club up for sale after Roman Abramovich was sanctioned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, it was reported that NBA chairman Larry Tanenbaum and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin had agreed to back Pagliuca’s bid, which is one of four proposals to have made a final shortlist, with the deadline for final offers to be made set for April 14.
Pagliuca had not previously commented publicly on his move to purchase the club but has now outlined his intentions for Chelsea in a statement released to Sky News.
High up in his statement, Pagliuca made specific reference to turning down any offer to be in a Super League, with Chelsea having been one of the 12 sides involved in the breakaway proposal in April 2021.
“Throughout my life and career, my ethos has always been to operate quietly, with integrity, and let my actions and results speak loudly,” the statement read.
“However, it is imperative to clarify and assure supporters about our bid group and its commitments, to emphasize how seriously we take our potential responsibility to Chelsea.
“Our first focus and goal is to make strategic investments to continue competing for championships and trophies.
“We will support our players and managers to make sure that Chelsea are habitual winners and title contenders, whether in the Premier League, Champions League or the Women’s Super League, the only Super League we intend competing in, for the record.
“In addition, we will continue to invest in the youth academy to develop the stars of the future and we would not be in this process if we did not have an exciting and inclusive vision for Chelsea.”
Pagliuca also stressed that there would be no plans to alter Chelsea’s colours, name or logo, while suggesting a new stadium – or the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge – would also be on the agenda.
“Chelsea is a world-class team, in a world-class city, with world-class fans: it deserves a world-class stadium,” he said, before emphasising the importance of the club’s community endeavours.
