Ukraine invasion: Abramovich to sell Chelsea as the UK MPs call for harder sanction on oligarchs. Revealing details

Last week Russia started a war against Ukraine, triggering a storm of sanctions and measures by the many cointries of the world, aimed not only at Russia itself, but also at the ‘clampdown’ of Russian politicians, businessmen and ordinary citizens. In the face of this, on 26 February, Roman Abramovich, one of the richest men in the aggressor country, announced that he had transferred the management of the club to the trustees of the Chelsea Charitable Foundation. And on 2 March he announced that he intends to sell the club.

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Abramovich is selling Chelsea – it is official and it has yet to be realised. A statement from the businessman, who has been with Chelsea for 19 years, was released on the club’s website on Wednesday evening:

“I would like to address the speculation in 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.“

“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.”

“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. I hope that I will be able to visit Stamford Bridge one last time to say goodbye to all of you in person. It has been a privilege of a lifetime to be part of Chelsea FC and I am proud of all our joint achievements. Chelsea Football Club and its supporters will always be in my heart. Thank you”

According to the source, the Russian businessman has already put Chelsea up for sale and wants €4.82bn for the club. An intermediary in the deal, negotiating with possible investors, is the American bank Raine. Abramovich wants to initiate an auction as early as this week.

“Things did not go smoothly with Saturday’s attempt to hand over management of Chelsea to a charitable foundation: even the trustees, not to mention politicians and experts, had doubts about the transparency of the gesture. Once it became clear that the process could drag on and eventually lead to failure, and with the assumption that sanctions were inevitable, Abramovich and his advisers moved to a new plan – a sale,”

insiders report.

Among the possible buyers is 86-year-old Swiss billionaire philanthropist (was trying to buy the club earlier), Hansjörg Wyss.  

“Me and three other people have received offers to buy Chelsea.”

he revealed by himself on Wednesday.

Wyss is 86 years old and has an estimated fortune of £4.6 billion. Born in Berne, he is a long-time resident of the US. The medical device firm he founded, Synthes USA, has helped Wyss get rich. Hansjörg has invested heavily in ecology, science and liberal political projects. Forbes calls Wyss “one of the most generous philanthropists in the world”. That said, there is no mention of Wyss’ association with football.

“I have to wait four or five days. Right now Abramovich is asking too much. Chelsea owe him two billion pounds, but the club has no money. That means whoever buys Chelsea will have to compensate Abramovich. [In a statement about the sale, Abramovich stressed that he would not demand repayment of the debt accumulated by the club over 19 years]. I can imagine coming to Chelsea with my partners. I certainly won’t go it alone. If I do buy Chelsea, it will be in a consortium with six or seven investors,”

Wyss blurted out the details. 

Another contender is American Todd Boehly, an investor and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. Boehly already tried to buy Chelsea in 2019 and was prepared to shell out £2.25bn, however, Abramovich rejected the bid. 

Major publications also mention Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest men. He, in the past, has also intended to buy Chelsea. His firm Ineos owns Ligue 1 side OGC Nice.

£2.6bn was quoted as the price at which Russian gonna settle the deal by the reputable London newspaper. This is considerably more than Abramovich himself paid in 2003 when he bought the club (£140m).

Another source wrote about the demands of Abramovich at 4 billion, but, referring to the sources involved in the process, said the amount is now in the region of 2 billion. They also noted that the cost of Chelsea is affected by the construction of a new stadium, frozen in 2018 – Stamford Bridge has only 41 800 seats and is seriously losing in capacity (and hence the profitability) arenas competitors in the EPL.

Kaveh Solehal points out the complexity of the deal: 

“But who can buy Chelsea now? Any potential buyer might have in their mind: ‘This man [Abramovich] could come under UK government sanctions at any moment. His assets could be frozen. Am I sure I want to deal with that?’ Selling Chelsea now would be as difficult as handing over control of the club to a charity.”

It was previously reported that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is also looking for a potential buyer for his real estate in London because of possible sanctions from the UK government.

“He is afraid of sanctions, so tomorrow he is going to sell his house and one flat,”

said Chris Bryant, a member of the British Parliament.

The property in question is a five-bedroom mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens worth £150m. The flat is likely to refer to the three-storey penthouse on Chelsea Embankment, which Abramovich bought in 2018 for £22m.

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• As a reminder, more than a hundred Russian individuals and entities have already been sanctioned by the UK – Abramovich is not yet on the list. However, according to the publication, Abramovich is coming under increasing pressure from politicians.

• Abramovich has owned Chelsea since 2003. In that time, the Blues have won four English Premier League titles, two Champions League and Europa League titles, a UEFA Super Cup win, five FA Cups, three League Cups and two FA Super Cup victories.

• Chelsea advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals by beating Luton Town on Wednesday night. The Championship club went ahead twice, but the Londoners still managed to win the match, with Romelu Lukaku scoring at the very end (2-3).