Mohamed Alkhereji: Meet Saudi billionaire who offered £2.7bn to buy Chelsea

In the wake of the sanctions imposed on Chelsea’s Russian owner, Roman Abramovich by the UK government, the future of the London club has been in a state of uncertainty and they are desperate to secure a sale of the Club as soon as possible.

The sale of the club was on hold for a while following the sanctions imposed on the Chelsea owner, however, the UK government had given the green light for the sale of the London club to resume, according to TheAthletic.

Ben Jacobs, a reporter for CBS Sports today confirmed via his Twitter handle that an official bid has been made by Saudi Media Group led by Mohamed Alkhereji who is a fan of the club. The private consortium made a bid of £2.7billion ($3.5billion) offer to purchase the West London club.

• “I can confirm Saudi Media Group have made a £2.7bn ($3.5bn) offer to buy Chelsea. Mohamed Alkhereiji is a Chelsea fan and leading a private consortium. No direct government links.
• “There is support in finding funding and partners (but not financial backing as far as I am told) from Mohammed bin Khalid Al Saud. What’s interesting about Khalid Al Saud is he’s also chair of Saudi Telecom Company (STC).
• “STC is State-owned and Newcastle owners PIF still have shares in it despite selling some in December. Probably just a coincidence that another telecoms provider has a link in light of the Three situation.
• “The reason I say this is because STC couldn’t be part of a consortium (without significant issues) and if Chelsea do change shirt sponsor it would more likely be NEOM or Saudi’s new national airline. KSA’s focus is to use sport to promote global tourism not MENA business,” Jacobs tweeted.

The deadline for bidders to submit rival offers for Chelsea is March 18.

Who is Mohamed Alkhereiji of Saudi Media Group?

• Mohamed Alkhereji is the Saudi Media Group’s owner and also a Chelsea fan who is leading the private consortium to buy the club.
• Alkhereiji is also the CEO of its parent company Engineer Holding Group – founded by his father Abdulelah Alkhereiji.
• Al-Khereiji is the chief executive of outdoor advertising company Al-Arabia, and chairman of MBC Media Solutions, the commercial advertising and sales arm of MBC Group, a media conglomerate owned by the Saudi government.
• He obtained an executive master’s degree of business administration from the London-based Business School – formerly known as Cass – and previously worked as an analyst for Deutsche Bank in London, fuelling his interest in the Blues.
• Alkhereiji was behind the new, state-of-the-art stadium in Mrsool Park for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, according to The Mirror.