MY ACCOUNT
Thomas Tuchel is convinced Chelsea will remain focused on winning trophies at the highest level under the club’s next ownership.
The deadline for bids passed on Friday, and there were reportedly at least 30 offers submitted to US merchant bank the Raine Group, which is overseeing the sale.
Chelsea’s long-time owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government on the basis of connections to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
Abramovich has denied having close ties to Putin, the leader who ordered the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
However, the sanctions imposed mean Abramovich, whose assets have been frozen, will not be allowed to profit from the sale of Chelsea. For now, the club continues to operate on a special licence, unable to sell match tickets or merchandise.
Tuchel believes the scale of investment that it will take to buy Chelsea will mean the next owner must make success on the pitch a priority.
The German head coach said: “If somebody buys a club for this amount of money then it’s about challenging on the highest kind of level, then it’s about trophies, then it’s about winning, and then it’s about being the best you can.
“It’s not about developing a project, it’s not about making money with the club.
“I don’t know the ideas behind buying a club or any organisation for this amount of money because I cannot afford it and I will never be able to.
“But that’s what I hope and what I think. I think Chelsea as a club and a structure and an organisation has an awful to offer, and that’s why the price is like it is.”
Chelsea have won the Champions League and Club World Cup over the past 12 months, asserting their place at the top of the global game.
The Blues were due in FA Cup action against Middlesbrough on Saturday evening, having received permission to fly north for the game.
Restrictions imposed on the club after Abramovich’s sanctioning meant Chelsea looked like having to take a long bus trip to the Riverside Stadium in order to fall within spending limits, but UK newspaper reports indicate an exemption was secured for the quarter-final game.
Abramovich is said to have valued the club, which he bought in 2003, at £3billion. Any funds are due to be directed to a charitable organisation or into a frozen account.
One interested party is a consortium headed by British property developer and Chelsea supporter Nick Candy. The Ricketts family, owners of MLB’s Chicago Cubs and backed by hedge fund entrepreneur Ken Griffin, are another party to have officially made a bid.
Martin Broughton, the ex-Liverpool chairman, and Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, are heading up a consortium, with another led by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and American businessman Todd Boehly, a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
