Fahim confirms interest in Blues

The Arab tycoon behind the takeover of Manchester City may become the man to finally test Roman Abramovich's Chelsea resolve.

The Russian billionaire owner insists he has no intention of selling the club - a position underlined by chief-executive Peter Kenyon at a fans' forum last weekend.

But Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim, working with a group of German investors, believes everything has its price - and may be ready to launch a takeover bid.

Fahim is understood to have drawn up a proposal with Falcon Equity - a Swiss-based private equity partnership.

Fahim, CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Hydra Properties, also chairs Falcon Equity, which is run by Holger Heims, former managing partner of 'DVC' Deutsche Venture Capital.

"We have looked before at some European clubs to see if the numbers added up, and now we are doing the same with Chelsea," admitted Heims. "I can't go into more details at this stage."

"I don't believe anything is ever not for sale if you come up with the right price. It's not about trying to buy a football team but about a business.

"You don't make money because 11 guys run around the pitch, you make money because of all the other commercial aspects that go with a football club, particularly real estate and television rights."

Fahim added: "It's not entirely clear if Chelsea is for sale, but regardless of that, we first need to see if we are in a position to buy it.

"Given that Roman Abramovich has invested more than £500million into the club, it would not be cheap, and with the current credit crunch, nobody wants to be over-exposed on one deal."