A press releaseAthletic Britain on Wednesday shed light on the possibility of a link between a company that owns a majority stake in Chelsea football club and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The report comes after a series of deals from Saudi clubs funded by investment funds and several players at the English club, including midfielder N’Golo Kante, who joined the ranks of Al-Ittihad.

According to the newspaper, Chelsea have been in contact with several clubs in the Saudi league for the six highest-paid players – Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Englishman Callum Hudson-Odoi, Senegalese Kalidou Coulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Belgian Romelu Lukaku and Moroccan Hakimiech Zimiech.

According to the report, with these deals, English clubs seek to “circumvent” fair play laws set by the European Union with the aim of curbing clubs’ huge spending. The extent of their income.

“Chelsea’s idea of ​​defrauding the rules of fair financial play by selling its surplus stars to Saudi Professional League clubs at exorbitant prices has taken root among a diverse following and competing teams,” the report pointed out.

“The Saudi Public Investment Fund is pleased to secure its investment in Clear Lake, a California-based private equity firm.

The report confirms that Chelsea have posted a financial loss of 121 million pounds ($154 million) for the 2021-22 season, after losing almost the same amount the previous season.

Chelsea have spent 600 million pounds (about $760 million) on new players since their purchase last year by a group led by American billionaire Todd Boley, with principal funding from Clear Lake.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund cooperates with “Clear Lake” and has investments in the hotel chain with a Bali subsidiary, the newspaper reveals.

Chelsea and the English Premier League are yet to comment on speculation that Saudi League clubs are interested in signing players from Chelsea, the newspaper reported.

He added that according to English Premier League rules, all transfers, whether between related parties or not, are currently being scrutinized to ensure they do not exceed “market value”.