Thomas Tuchel says he is confident Chelsea’s next owners will be serious about winning and not just in it for profit.
The deadline set by merchant bank Raine to lodge bids to buy the club from Roman Abramovich passed on Friday night with the asking price about £2.5billion.
‘It is a huge amount of money and that’s why I am confident,’ said Chelsea’s head coach Tuchel. ‘If somebody buys a club for this kind of money, it’s about challenging at the highest level, winning and being the best you can.
Thomas Tuchel says he is confident Chelsea’s next owners will be serious about winning
‘It’s not about developing a project. It’s not about making money. 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’ll never be able to afford it.
‘But that’s what I hope. Chelsea have an awful lot to offer. That’s why the price is like it is.’
Three leading contenders involve North American sports tycoons. Todd Boehly, owner of the LA Dodgers, Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, and the Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs.
LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly is also leading a consortium bidding to buy Chelsea
‘I know the teams when I read the news,’ said Tuchel. ‘But the owners are not so familiar to me. I watch almost every sport because I love it. I watch American sport. I don’t know them well enough to know who is good.’
The consortium led by British property developer Nick Candy and including Gianluca Vialli, a former Chelsea player and manager, have made promises about representation for supporters on the board.
Another club legend, John Terry, emerged as the face of a group of fans keen to buy a 10 per cent stake and piggyback a wealthier consortium. Former Blues defender Tal Ben-Haim is also said to be brokering a deal between Abramovich and an unnamed Gulf-based billionaire.
British businessman Nick Candy is another tycoon in the race to replace Roman Abramovich
‘For every situation and every structure, there are pros and cons,’ said Tuchel, when asked about his experience of the German 50+1 ownership model, designed to give fans more control and limit commercial investors to owning no more than 49 per cent of any club.
‘Some of them have good experiences, some don’t. It’s not for me to judge. There’s a sale of the club and we hope we find a new owner soon. This will calm the situation down and give us clarity.’
Chelsea are at Middlesbrough in the FA Cup this evening before an international break, when Tuchel will give a week off to those not called up by their countries. Tuchel himself is planning ‘long walks in the forest’.
Logistical challenges, however, will continue. Chelsea have negotiated an exemption to the £20,000 travel cap imposed by sanctions against Abramovich so they can fly to Teesside on Saturday.
Chelsea had to negotiation sanctions against Roman Abramovich to fly to Middlesbrough
They must do the same next month to take on Real Madrid in the last eight of the Champions League. The issue of ticket sales will resurface, and restrictions on spending will complicate transport for players used to hopping on private flights funded by their club for international duty.
‘These are the things the board is working on,’ said Tuchel. ‘They are working hard on 100 things, besides looking for the right owner and judging offers.
‘Can we provide the same level of service we normally give the players? Not to spoil them but to guarantee the most professional preparation and recovery. That’s what we’re up to on a daily basis. They’re doing a fantastic job.’
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Meanwhile, Sportsmail understands the Government will not take an active part in assessing the initial offers for Chelsea, which will be left to Roman Abramovich and his advisers at the Raine Group.
The Government’s main role in the process is to ensure the club are complying with the terms of their current licence before ensuring Abramovich does not receive any proceeds from the sale.