Chelsea 'hold talks with Mayor of London' over new stadium plans amid ownership power struggle

Chelsea have reportedly held talks with London Mayor Sadiq Khan over building a new stadium in Earl's Court. 

The issue of a new stadium for the west London club has been a discussion point for some time now, with the English giants' home of Stamford Bridge arguably falling behind their rivals'.

Stamford Bridge is currently the ninth-largest Premier League venue in terms of capacity at around 41,000 which puts Chelsea over 33,000 seats behind league leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford, and 7,000 behind newly-promoted Sunderland.

There have long been discussions about a new stadium for the Blues, and whether that would take in the form of a complete re-build, a revamp, or a relocation, with owners seemingly divided. 

According to the Telegraph, Chelsea recently held discussions with officials at City Hall following London mayor Sadiq Khan's public invitation for the club to clarify whether it intends to redevelop Stamford Bridge or consider a move to Earl's Court.

Khan's comments, made in April, came in response to Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly hinting at internal disagreements with fellow co-owners Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano regarding the club's long-term stadium plans.

Minority shareholder Hansjorg Wyss added to the speculation after Chelsea's 3-1 victory over Liverpool on May 5, describing Earl's Court as 'the best option we can even think of.'

He told Chelsea Fan TV: 'If it's going to happen, I don't know. There's a lot of obstacles. But, right now, we don't have one person who drives that project. That's what we need.'

Meanwhile, co-owner Boehly had earlier suggested that a move to a new stadium may have to wait until 2042.

He told Bloomberg: '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.'

Chelsea declined to provide an update on their stadium plans or confirm whether any meetings had taken place with the mayor's office.

A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan, who would be required to approve any redevelopment or relocation plans, told Telegraph Sport: 'The mayor works closely with all Premier League football clubs in London across a variety of matters.

'The mayor is unaware of any recent formal proposals from the club for the Earl's Court site. The mayor and TfL can only form a view once they have seen the details of any potential proposals.'