Chelsea sale: Saudi Media Group, Woody Johnson among bidders to be eliminated

Chelsea is on the verge of being sold, as its Russian owner Roman Abramovich had put the club on sale before the United Kingdom (UK) government imposed sanctions on him. As per reports, around 20 bids have been received by the club. However, on Thursday afternoon, the list was curtailed down, with bidders like Saudi Media Group, Woody Johnson and more among the ones to be eliminated.

New York-based merchant bank, Raine Group, is handling the dealing of the bidding process for the club, reports 90min. The bids are being analysed based on their assurances about future spending. While some of them have already been eliminated, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding some of the existing bidders too.

The Saudi Media Group happens to be the biggest such group in the Middle East, as it made a bid of £2.7 billion before being eliminated. On the other hand, Woody Johnson, who owns the New York Jets side in the National Football League (NFL), made an undisclosed bid, which has also been rejected. However, the bank has given no reason for their elimination yet.

Egyptian businessman Muhsin Barak is also out of the bidding race. At the same time, a £2 billion-plus bid from Aethel Partners, a London-based financial firm, also looks doubtful to get into the second round of the bidding. Although Centricus and British billionaire Nick Candy's joint bid has made the cut, doubts persist.

Nonetheless, the joint consortium of Todd Boehly (Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner), Ricketts family (Chicago Cubs owners), and Sir Michael Broughton-Lord Sebastian Coe (British businessmen) are tipped to be the favourites. It is being deemed that Chelsea might become the most expensive football club once the sale occurs.