Roman Abramovich said on Wednesday he was selling the Premier League London club Chelsea. He has denied his close ties to Vladimir Putin, but British politicians are urging that economic sanctions be extended to Abramovich as well.
Russian owner of Chelsea, one of the major leagues in the English Premier League, which celebrated the Champions League last spring Roman Abramovich announced on Wednesday that it would sell the club.
Already last weekend, he said he would be giving control of the management of the Chelsea Charitable Foundation for the time being. He stated at the time that the foundation was best placed to advance the interests of the club in this situation. At the time, however, Abramovich continued as Chelsea’s majority owner.
– I have decided to sell the club because I believe it will be best for the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club’s sponsors and partners. This decision has been extremely difficult to make, Abramovich wrote to Chelsea in the website newsletter (you switch to another service).
Abramovich argued that Chelsea’s ownership had never been about business or money for him, but a passion for the sport and the company. He also announces on Chelsea’s website that he will set up a charity fund to whose account all net proceeds from the sale of the club would be donated.
– The Foundation works for the benefit of the victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical resources for the immediate and immediate needs of victims as well as supporting long-term recovery work, the Chelsea website writes.
Abramovich, who has owned the club since 2003, is one of the richest people in Russia and is believed to have close ties with the president. Vladimir Putin.
Raised Chelsea to consecutive championships in a few years
Abramovich bought the indebted British businessman Chelsea From Ken Bates and other smaller shareholders in the summer of 2003. The price was estimated at £ 140 million, at the current rate of € 168 million.
Abramovich immediately invested large sums in Chelsea, including player acquisitions of more than £ 100 million. Head coach Claudio Ranieri was replaced Jose Mourinhowho led Chelsea to two consecutive championships in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
In total, Chelsea won five championships under Abramovich, later winning Premier League titles in the 2009-10, 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons. There were also five FA Cup wins.
The Champions League has been conquered twice by Chelsea, in the spring of 2012 and 2021. With the Champions League victory at the end of last season, Chelsea also made it to the Fifa World Cup World Championships, in the final of which it won Palmeiras in February 2022.
For the first nine years under Abramovich’s control, Chelsea made continuous financial losses due to its large investments. In 2012, Chelsea was ranked the fifth most valuable football brand in the world and in the spring of 2021 Forbes list (switch to another service) the seventh most valuable football club in the world.
Supposedly close relations with the presidents
Abramovich, 55, is one of the Russian oligarchs who amassed billions in wealth after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, when state property was privatized. In addition to Putin, Abramovich is said to have had close ties with the Russian presidency in 1991-99. Boris Yeltsin with.
After the break-up of the Soviet Union, Abramovich enriched himself with oil and aluminum companies, among others. Millhouse Capital, an investment company registered in the UK, manages Abramovich’s assets and investments.
According to The Guardian, for example, Abramovich has tried to give up his holdings for fear of economic sanctions on Russia and the oligarchs. Member of the British Parliament Chris Bryant said to the Guardian on Tuesday (you will switch to another service)that Abramovich is urgently trying to sell his holdings, including his homes, in Britain. Bryant would have liked to have acted more quickly in economic sanctions.
– I think Abramovich is afraid of sanctions, which is why he is going to sell his home and also another apartment tomorrow. What worries me is that we’re going too long on these things, Bryant commented on Tuesday.
Abramovich himself has denied his relationship with Putin, saying he has done nothing to impose financial sanctions on him.
Guardian (switch to another service) says Abramovich has links to the Russian state and “corrupt practices and practices,” according to a 2019 report by the British Home Office.
Abramovich offers Chelsea to a Swiss billionaire
According to Forbes listings, in 2007 Abramovich was the richest in Russia with assets of 14.1 billion euros. In 2019, he was Russia’s 11th and 107th richest in the world with 15.5 billion.
BBC (switch to another service) reports that the EU has already imposed economic sanctions on, among others, a Russian billionaire To Alisher Usmanov, which has supported the Premier League through its company, follows Everton. Everton has suspended its sponsorship agreement with Usmanov companies.
The BBC says the Labor leader Keir Starmer had asked on Wednesday why Abramovich had not yet been subject to economic sanctions, which the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had replied, “it is not appropriate to comment on individual cases at this stage.”
According to Wyss, Abramovich wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly.
– I can well imagine starting in Chelsea with partners. But I must first examine the general circumstances. I really don’t do that alone. If I buy Chelsea, then with a consortium of six to seven investors, Wyss commented.
Wyss said he had received an offer from Abramovich, among others. The Swiss also noted that Abramovich is currently asking too much about the company.