Roman Abramovich Puts Chelsea FC Up For Sale
Written by maxfmeditor2 on March 3, 2022
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has revealed in a statement that Chelsea Football Club is up for sale.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and due to the pressure, Roman Abramovich has said that he will sell Chelsea. He said in a statement, “I would like to address the speculation in the media over the past few days in relation to my ownership of Chelsea FC. As I have stated before, I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart. In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the Club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the Club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club’s sponsors and partners.”
Under his ownership of Abramovich the Premier League team was transformed into one of the world’s top soccer clubs. The billionaire is close with Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, he is not among the handful of Russian oligarchs who are currently being sanctioned by the U.S. but the British government has been under pressure to take more action against oligarchs like Abramovich. The U.K. has long been a destination where wealthy Russians can park their vast riches in shell companies and multimillion-dollar London townhomes.
This, however, has been an emotional decision and a tough one as he said, “Please know that this has been an incredibly difficult decision to make, and it pains me to part with the Club in this manner. However, I do believe this is in the best interest of the Club…”.
He continued in the statement, “the sale of the Club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process. I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid. This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and Club. Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.”
