The whirlwind of Russia-Ukraine conflict is fast-reaching Russian oligarchs and its rich found to be supporters of President Vladimir Putin. A flurry of sanctions targeting their assets have been announced by the US, UK, EU and their allies.
Caught in the web of this misfortune is Chelsea Football Club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, who has been identified as a friend and supporter of Putin, a discovery that is not sitting well with the UK. This means, Abramovich’s assets and businesses in foreign lands have come under immediate threat of seizure by governments – and that includes Chelsea FC.
Seeking a way out of the possibility of his assets being frozen by the British government, Abramovich, who has been banned from entering the UK, is putting Chelsea up for sale. The oil magnate issued a statement on Wednesday, confirming that the football club now has a price tag.
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“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,” Abramovich said in a statement published on Chelsea’s website.
ESPN had earlier reported Abramovich’s decision to sell Chelsea, citing sources. As the UK teamed up with the US and others to mete out heavy sanctions on Russia, the 55-year-old attempted to separate the club from a possible personal sanction from the U.K. government by passing “stewardship and care” of Chelsea on to its trustees on Saturday.
However, per ESPN, the trustees were seeking legal advice before responding to Abramovich’s instruction due to concerns that a charitable foundation is not a suitable entity to run a football club. This has forced his decision to sell the club.
Abramovich, who has always strenuously denied any ties to the Putin regime, was uncovered in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting the debate on Wednesday in the UK Parliament whether to sanction him.
The session had begun in the House of Commons, with Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer calling for sanctions against the Chelsea owner.
“Roman Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea Football Club and various other high-value assets in the United Kingdom,” Starmer said.
“He is a person of interest to the Home Office because of his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices. Last week he [U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson] said Abramovich was facing sanctions. He later corrected the record to say he isn’t. Well, why on Earth isn’t he?”
A decision to sanction Abramovich will mean that Chelsea would be frozen because it’s one of his assets – and that would make it impossible for him to sell the club or inject any funds into it – which would have huge repercussions for the club.
Abramovich has been supporting Chelsea with his personal money since he bought the club nearly a decade ago. He said the decision to sell “has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and Club,” and that “the sale of the Club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process.”
Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140 million. According to ESPN, the club’s latest accounts show he is owed £1.514 billion in loans through parent company Fordstam Limited, which he controls.
“When Chelsea announced their latest accounts — a £145.6m loss after tax for the year ending June 30, 2021, despite winning the Champions League — the club admitted at the time they were ‘reliant on Fordstam Limited for its continued financial support’,” the report said.
Sources have told ESPN that Abramovich has told potential buyers in the past that he valued the club at around £3bn. The price tag was considered too much for potential buyers who were worried about loan repayment. Chelsea owes Abramovich nearly 2 billion pounds but he has said “I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid,” allaying the concern of buyers.
Abramovich said the proceeds of the sale will go to charity: “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,” he said.