Granovskaia dilemma as quartet of Chelsea bidders court director
The four candidates vying to buy Chelsea all want Marina Granovskaia to remain at the club, leaving the Chelsea director with something of a dilemma.
The quartet of bidders will submit their final proposals to Raine Group this week in preparation for the preferred bidder being selected.
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It means the process to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, who opted to sell the club before being sanctioned by the UK government, is nearing its end.
Amid a wave of uncertainty at the club, one of the key questions has been whether Granovskaia will stay.
She’s been a key cog in the inner workings at Stamford Bridge for over a decade, taking charge of the majority of contract and transfer negotiations, earning the title of best club director in European football at the Golden Boy awards last year.
Granovskaia is heralded and respected by all at Chelsea and by many elsewhere and The Athletic report that all four of the prospective buyers of the club have expressed a wish to keep her in west London should they emerge victorious.
The situation leaves Granovskaia with something of a dilemma due to her close relationship with Abramovich, for whom she has worked for since 1997.
It’s reported that none of the four parties have received a commitment from her one way or the other and she is expected to maintain that stance until it’s clear who the new owner or owners will be.
Meanwhile, Abramovich has reportedly made a bid to buy Valencia once the sale of Chelsea has been completed.
After being linked with buying Turkish Super Lig outfit Goztepe, Abramovich has now made an offer to buy La Liga side Valencia.
Rival bidder Miguel Zorio claims that current Valencia owner Peter Lim has leaked the Russian oligarch’s bid to the media.
“Peter Lim has tried to sell the club in London for 250 million euros and has not succeeded,” Zorio is reported as saying.
“Lately, he has leaked to international media that he has two purchase offers, mine and that of the Russian oligarch of Chelsea.
“And from here, I tell him that either he puts 50 million every year to compensate for the losses he generates or he sells to us. Whether he likes it or not.”
Valencia are up for sale after years of financial mismanagement by Lim, who has watched the Spanish club slide down the La Liga table in recent seasons.