Tuesday night brought strange news that Newcastle United co-owner Jamie Reuben is interested in buying Chelsea.
The Blues have been put up for sale by Roman Abramovich, amid increased pressure following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The 55-year-old has now reportedly been sanctioned by the UK government – further complicating a sale.
Bloomberg claimed that Toon director Reuben could make a bid to buy the European champions. He is a Chelsea fan, which may be what is driving his alleged interest in buying the club from Abramovich.
But any move for Chelsea from Reuben would raise a lot of questions about his stake in the Magpies.
The 34-year-old was part of the consortium that bought Newcastle in October last year, with RB Sports and Media owning 10% of the club. Amanda Staveley’s PCP also own 10%, with the other 80% belonging to PIF.
Talk of a move for another, much more expensive, club from Reuben seemed strange. And now Goal have played down the possibility of a takeover attempt.
What buying Chelsea would mean for Jamie Reuben’ Newcastle stake
According to Goal, ‘sources’ close to Reuben have played down talk of him trying to buy Chelsea. They add that the reason is he would ‘likely’ have to give up his 10% stake in the Magpies.
There’s no way Reuben could own Chelsea and also have a share in Newcastle. The Premier League wouldn’t allow it, and rightly so.
Considering how long it took to get the Newcastle takeover over the line, it would be a shock to see a shareholder leave after just six months.
And while Chelsea are a much bigger club, they would come at a much bigger cost. The Telegraph had reported that Abramovich wanted £4billion for his asset. In contrast, Newcastle cost £305million – and the Reubens only purchased 10%.
It would be a strange financial decision, so it’s no surprise to see Goal’s report distancing Reuben from a Chelsea takeover.
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