Alan Shearer has made a Newcastle and Chelsea fan comparison to justify why supporters could potentially back a Saudi Media takeover if their offer was to be selected by the Raine Group.
The deadline for offers has now passed by and at least five bids have been officially submitted to the Raine Group, who will make a shortlist with the potential final candidates revealed as early as Monday. Initially, it was reported by the Athletic that the much spoken about Saudi Media bid had no been officially presented by the deadline but those claims had been knocked back by reports on Saturday afternoon prior to kick off in Middlesbrough vs Chelsea.
With the bids now in ahead of the new week, Chelsea fans have started to adjust to what a new ownership structure could look like should there be ethical issues attached to them, just like with Newcastle's Saudi owners. The main difference being though that Mohamed Al Khereiji's consortium are not said to have any 'direct' links to any 'state' involvement from the Saudi government despite Newcastle's PIF ownership feeling 'dubious' about the whole situation.
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There are indications that suggest a new structure could be in play before Chelsea's next Premier League home game against Brentford. Regardless of what happens at the end of this takeover saga, Shearer has said that fans should be allowed to both back the club and raise questions of the ownership without facing undue criticism.
"You can still support your club and want your club to win. But, you don’t have to agree with your owners and who and what they are," he said in the build-up to the FA Cup tie on the BBC.
"You can condemn wars all around the world, we all do. Whether that’s in Ukraine now, or Yemen or indeed the human rights issues all around the world, or even what went on in Saudi Arabia last weekend.
"Fans rarely get a say in who their owners are of their football clubs, that’s for the government and governing bodies to decide. My grandad followed Newcastle, my dad does, I do, my son does, his kids will do.
"No one is going to stop me supporting my club, very much like these Chelsea fans here who have made it here today. It’s not the fans' fault at all.
"You can’t blame the fans for what’s gone on and what’s going on. Chelsea and Newcastle will be around a lot longer than any fan and indeed, any owner."
