The Russian tycoon, threatened by sanctions as a result of his country’s invasion of Ukraine, leaves the control and administration of the European champion in the hands of the club’s foundation
Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich has been forced to take a historic step aside in his management at the helm of Chelsea for almost 20 years and hand over the administration and management of the current European champion to the club’s foundation. Another consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sporting sanctions that threaten the owner of the Stamford Bridge entity.
“I have always made decisions with the best interest of the club in mind and I remain committed to these values. That’s why today I’m giving the trustees of the Chelsea Charitable Trust its stewardship and care. I think they are currently in the best position to look after the interests of the club, the players, the coaching staff and the fans,” Abramovich said on Saturday.
According to The Times newspaper, Chelsea could face bankruptcy if the British government ends up freezing Abramovich’s financial assets, which could lead him to demand that the London team return 1,500 million pounds, in exchange for about 1,800 million euros. That is the figure that the owner would have lent to the ‘blue’ club and that he could outline as an argument in the face of a hypothetical threat from the government chaired by Boris Johnson.
Just yesterday it was reported that potential new owners of Chelsea are considering moving an offer in the coming days. Among those interested is Sir Jime Ratcliffe, president of the Ineos chemicals group, which bought the Nice in 2019 and also owns a cycling team.
“Malignant activities and illicit finances”
In addition to Ratcliffe, other US investors would be interested, as noted by Bloomberg. Pending possible offers, the British government has not made a final decision on Abramovich. The one who did speak out on the case was Chris Bryant, a Labor MP who used his parliamentary privilege to reveal a leaked Home Office document that named Abramovich among those “linked to malign activities and illicit finances” in the UK.
On a sporting level, the team led by Thomas Tuchel faces Liverpool this Sunday in the Carabao Cup final (5:30 p.m.), but the German coach has acknowledged that the squad is not in the best condition: “We are aware of it, it is distracting us and it worries us».