Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has reacted to rumours of an offer from Saudi Arabia and has suggested he would rather the new owners are less controversial so he can get back to his work as a coach.
Roman Abramovich is now in the process of selling the London club after being sanctioned by the UK government and has instructed US merchant bank Raine to oversee the process, with Friday’s deadline for bids approaching.
On Monday, reports emerged claiming Saudi Media Group had made a £2.7bn offer for Chelsea, though that could generate more controversy for the club.
The Premier League faced a huge backlash when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund were allowed to buy Newcastle, with LGBTQ+ rights not recognised in the country and their human rights records under serious scrutiny.
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia executed 81 men on charges which included ‘holding deviant beliefs’, though when Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was questioned about it he said he preferred to ‘stick to football’.
If the Saudi Arabia offer for the Blues is successful, and avoids any conflict of interest with Newcastle, Tuchel – like Howe – will face yet more political questions after weeks of dealing with the Abramovich fallout on behalf of the London club’s so far silent hierarchy.
While the German would prefer for that not to be the case, he said journalists should be directing their questions at the people responsible for determining who is ‘fit and proper’ to own a club.
Asked if Saudi Arabian ownership would mean he needs to continue his role as a Chelsea ‘ambassador’ and cause more non-football questions, Tuchel said: ‘Yeah, but before we discuss a new owner a new owner needs to arrive.
‘And a new owner needs to be approved and a new owner needs to be allowed to own the football club, and then we can discuss about it if it’s necessary to discuss about it.
‘But then again, maybe I’m not the right person because there is a process about how you become an owner in this league.
‘And, of course, like I said to you after the last game, everybody relies on the reliability of the process and on the values which are behind the decision and the permission to own a club and to run a club.
‘Did I have a choice [to become an ambassador for Chelsea]? No I did not have a choice to also take this role. Do I need it? No.
‘But listen, it’s more or less day-by-day. It’s like this in England that not a lot of people in general in sports are talking at a football club. It’s a structure that I really appreciate, we talk inside. Of course we have people who are in charge of different roles and different responsibilities.
‘But to the outside it’s more or less just me who talks. Was it always comfortable? No. But I think it’s necessary.
‘I don’t think too much about it. I try to be honest and I try to give you an insight and I try to provide you with information, but more or less still from a sporting side, and from a coach’s heart.
‘This is what I try and this is maybe what you can rely on. And I’m more than happy if things calm down and we can talk more about football – more than happy.’
