Chelsea’s Muslim players uncomfortable with Ricketts family buying club after racist emails resurface

Chelsea’s Muslim players would feel ‘uncomfortable’ should the Ricketts family be successful in their bid to purchase the crisis-ridden Premier League club.

The deadline for offers to be submitted is looming into view, with more suitors expected to formally register their interest before the 21.00 cut-off point on Friday.

Merchant bank the Raine Group, who will be advising Chelsea throughout the sale process which was triggered by the UK Government’s decision to seize Roman Abramovich’s assets, are set to whittle down the offers to a shortlist of four.

Earlier this week, the Ricketts Family – who own the Chicago Cubs – publicly confirmed their intention to bid for Chelsea.

However, emails written by head of the family, Joe, in which he described Muslims as his ‘enemy’, resurfaced on Wednesday, sparking a backlash among Chelsea supporters.

Although Joe, and his son Pete, are understood not to be leading the American consortium’s bid, the Daily Mail reports that Chelsea’s Muslim players, which includes the likes of Antonio Rudiger, N’Golo Kante, Malang Sarr and Hakim Ziyech, would feel uncomfortable were the Ricketts family to be successful and become the club’s new owners.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>He surely didn’t say that, didn’t he ?????? https://t.co/Ucjmq1IsDK

Rudiger’s future was already the subject of intense speculation, even prior to Abramovich being forced into selling the club he has owned outright since 2003.

The Germany international, who has emerged as a key part of Thomas Tuchel’s team, is out of contract in the summer and had been seeking parity with Chelsea’s highest earners.

Given Chelsea unable to negotiate new deals with their players under the terms of the special license they are operating under,