Sulaiman al-Fahim, who was part of the Abu Dhabi takeover of Manchester City, is working in conjunction with a group of German investors to put together a bid to buy Premiership rivals Chelsea from Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, an Arabian business Web site reported on Friday.
The report claims the mega-rich Abu Dhabi businessman has met with five potential German partners from Swiss based company Falcon Equity in a bid to wrest the club from Abramovich, who is rumored to have seen his interest in the club wane. The Russian, who lost a large chunk of his fortune during the financial crisis, has been less in evidence in his seat at Stamford Bridge this season.
“We have looked before at some European clubs before to see if the numbers add up, and now we are doing the same with Chelsea. I can’t go into more details at this stage,” Falcon Equity boss Holger Heims told Arabianbusiness.com.
“I don’t believe anything is ever not for sale if you come up with the right price. It’s not about trying to buy a football team but about a business,” he added.
Abramovich took over the club in 2003 and has since invested around £500 million (US$688.2 million) as he turned the Londoners into a European force by first bringing in Jose Mourinho as manager as well as a string of world class players.
They won back to back Premiership titles in 2005 and 2006 and a string of domestic cups but have yet to win the Champions League trophy Abramovich craves, despite coming within a successful penalty kick of glory in last year’s final against Manchester United in Moscow. However, the club has racked up massive debts and encountered a number of problems on and off the pitch that have fueled rumors Abramovich is on the verge of pulling the plug.
The reclusive 42-year-old rarely gives interviews and these latest reports are unlikely to inspire the Russian to declare his intentions in public.
“Given that Roman Abramovich has invested over £500 million into the club, it would not be cheap [to buy Chelsea], and with the current credit crunch, nobody wants to be over exposed on one deal. But through a number of investors, there is money available to put together a deal,” Heims said.
The report was immediately denounced by Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins.
“It is no, no,” said Wilkins. “Roman is very keen to continue his support of Chelsea and what Peter Kenyon said last week is the bottom line. It’s not for sale.”
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
Italian champions SSC Napoli on Sunday came unstuck at Bologna, losing 2-0 to cede the Italian Serie A summit to Inter, who downed SS Lazio by the same scoreline. AS Roma, who beat Udinese 2-0 earlier, briefly held the summit, only for Inter to dislodge them on goal difference. With the game just three minutes old, Lautaro Martinez put Inter in control with Ange-Yoan Bonny doubling the lead on the hour with a shot from close range. Goals in the capital either side of the break by Lorenzo Pellegrini and Zeki Celik sent Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma temporarily to the
RSS