Ron Gourlay: Stadium move pivotal for Chelsea

Chief executive Ron Gourlay believes that moving to a new stadium is crucial if Chelsea are to keep pace with the two Manchester clubs.

Gourlay fears that Chelsea have outgrown their current Stamford Bridge stadium, which is significantly smaller than the grounds of other top European sides.

"We have outgrown our stadium and tried every way possible to extend capacity," said Gourlay.

"We need a 60-65,000 stadium. We have the eighth biggest stadium in England and the 61st biggest in Europe.

"When you look at the activity of stadiums planned for next few years, we will fall out of the top 75 which can only be restrictive to the football club," he added.

Roman Abramovich's recent attempts to buy back the current stadium were rebuffed by the Chelsea Pitch Owners, who own shares in the West London ground.