Chelsea stadium latest as 'talks held' after public plea from Mayor of London

Chelsea have held talks with the Mayor of London as they continue to weigh up a stadium move, according to recent reports.

There has long been speculation over vacating Stamford Bridge, with former owner Roman Abramovich considering numerous sites prior to his exit in 2022. While nothing has come to fruition yet, new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital recognise the potential benefits of moving home.

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea recently met with the Mayor of London’s office at City Hall after Sadiq Khan publicly urged them to get in touch over their stadium plans. "My message to Chelsea is come and speak to us in relation to what you want to do," Khan told The Times in April.

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"Chelsea are the victims of their success, and Stamford Bridge is now too small for them. After all, this is a team that has twice won the Champions League.

"We work closely with all seven of our Premier League clubs but I'm sure Chelsea look with some envy at the stadiums some of their rivals in London have. We're really keen to make sure that Chelsea, as we are with all our clubs, continue to flourish and thrive, so we're open to talking to Chelsea about what plans they have."

This comes after reports that Chelsea were considering a site at Earl's Court in west London, with shareholder Hansjorg Wyss indicating it would likely suit the club best. However, a spokesperson for the Mayor confirmed no formal proposals have been presented.

Boehly told Bloomberg earlier in March : “We have to think about the long term, about what we’re trying to accomplish. We have a big stadium development opportunity that we have to flush out, and I think that’s going to be where we’re either aligned or we ultimately decide to go a different way.

“We have 16–20 years to figure it out. Obviously, inside of London, it’s really complex, but it’s not as if we’re building something in the middle of a rural environment. We have a lot of constituencies to make sure that we care about.

"Certainly, the Chelsea fanbase is one. But long term, I think we’re going to be building something new, and we’ll figure it out.”

Stamford Bridge has a capacity of 41,631, making it the ninth-biggest stadium in the Premier League. However, with Everton’s brand new Hill Dickinson Stadium set to open ahead of the new season with a capacity of over 52,000, the Bridge will drop to 10th.

Old Trafford remains the largest stadium in the Premier League, followed by the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London Stadium, Anfield, the Emirates, the Etihad, St James’ Park, and Villa Park.