Roman Abramovich plans to sell Chelsea | SOLD for £4.25BN

[Mb194dc]

Up until he wasn't allowed into the country, he attended hundreds of games over two decades with his kids. There's hours of footage of him celebrating wins and goals, I just don't believe that was all just an act, if you do that's fair enough.

It's entirely possible for him the be a complete scumbag and also have some affection for a football club.

You can try to simplify it down to "he was sports washing or loved the club" because that's a nice and convenient way to make a point but things are never that straightforward in reality.

I just don't think "sports washing" as a concept really fits with Roman and Chelsea. Nobody had heard of him before he took over and after all these years, the vast majority of football fans all think he's a crook. There was no public opinion of him to rehabilitate or "wash".

He's been allowed in the country, just not on his tier 1 visa he had before. Had his Israeli passport for years and could have visited games on it. He chose not to due to unhappiness with the Visa being cancelled?

Fans shouldn't be distributing the minutes applause / silence for Ukraine.

Given Roman has nothing directly to do with the Ukraine invasion or the Russian government for many years, I can understand the sense of injustice.

I suppose as long as owners of other clubs are forced to sell when their passport country gets involved in an illegal war, I won't have a problem with it.

Fairness, Justice and all that right?

 

[Dancfc]

Most here are old enough to remember the last 19 years of chants and support for Abramovich from your "minority"

And I think everyone on here would be old enough to remember how a section of your fanbase abused Adebayor and his parents then threw projectiles at him when he scored and had the audacity to bite back or how Robbie from AFTV said he got it so bad he didn't feel comfortable taking his Dad to games or the racist and homophobic abuse thrown Xhaka and Bellerin's as recently as last season.

Shall I judge you and the entire Arsenal fanbase based on the culprits of them above?

 

[Member 109952]

He's been allowed in the country, just not on his tier 1 visa he had before. Had his Israeli passport for years and could have visited games on it. He chose not to due to unhappiness with the Visa being cancelled?

Fans shouldn't be distributing the minutes applause / silence for Ukraine.

Given Roman has nothing directly to do with the Ukraine invasion or the Russian government for many years, I can understand the sense of injustice.

I suppose as long as owners of other clubs are forced to sell when their passport country gets involved in an illegal war, I won't have a problem with it.

Fairness, Justice and all that right?

You keep banging on about it being anti Russian injustice, you really need to stop because you're cluttering up this thread.

It's not because he's from Russia, it's because 1) He's an oligarch who by 35 became a billionaire by looting state companies on the cheap 2) Is close to Putin - is said to have recommend Putin to the president job. As such given the atrocities the Russian regime is carrying out, it's right that he's penalised given that he's linked in two ways to the mess Russia has become. Furthermore given that a lot of oligarchs that didn't do what Putin wanted had their wealth confiscated or were killed, it's a reasonable conjecture, though not proven, that Roman is still likely providing support to Putin.

 

[Abraxas]

I've got to say I have been massively impressed by Thomas Tuchel and the way he carries himself. Always a straight forward answer for everything. Usually sprinkled with a heavy dose of common sense. Clearly a top manager too.

 

[Righteous Steps]

Never known a club where people tar the entire club/fanbase due to the actions of a minority like they do with us.

Imagine if someone tarred your whole club based on Greenwood's recording or the minority that chanted about Hillsbrough?

Chelsea have always been comparable to the Millwalls of this world with their right wing racist elements going all the way back to the 70-80’s though...

 

[Righteous Steps]

And I think everyone on here would be old enough to remember how a section of your fanbase abused Adebayor and his parents then threw projectiles at him when he scored and had the audacity to bite back or how Robbie from AFTV said he got it so bad he didn't feel comfortable taking his Dad to games or the racist and homophobic abuse thrown Xhaka and Bellerin's as recently as last season.

Shall I judge you and the entire Arsenal fanbase based on the culprits of them above?

Any person who grew up in London as an ethnic minority would tell you Arsenal is far from comparable to Chelsea, if anything Arsenal have always traditionally been one of the few London clubs where many black and ethnic minorities gravitated to because they didn’t have a lot of the racist National front aligned fans that the likes of Chelsea Millwall and West Ham had.

 

[SirReginald]

I've got to say I have been massively impressed by Thomas Tuchel and the way he carries himself. Always a straight forward answer for everything. Usually sprinkled with a heavy dose of common sense. Clearly a top manager too.

We are lucky to have him. I’m sure a fair few managers without any backbone would have quit if they were in his position. Not just because of our owners links to Russia but the constant assault from the media trying to get some kind of exclusive comment.

Honestly at this point the whole thing has become it’s own soap opera with cretins such as Chris Bryant leading for punishments. This holier-than-thou attitude is hypocrisy at its finest, since MPs such as Chris himself participating in their own scandals (expenses) and the media being far from clean themselves.

Whatever people think they know, or actually know, about Roman. It’s undeniable that he has been a brilliant owner. I don’t agree with the chanting but if you look at it objectively, it’s a small demonstration of the emotions it has caused the fans and club.

 

[Plant0x84]

I've got to say I have been massively impressed by Thomas Tuchel and the way he carries himself. Always a straight forward answer for everything. Usually sprinkled with a heavy dose of common sense. Clearly a top manager too.

Yup, agreed. If it goes tits up at Chelsea I’d love to see him in the OT hot seat. I think Ralf in the boardroom and Tuchel in the dugout would set us right for years to come.

 

[Rajiztar]

Yup, agreed. If it goes tits up at Chelsea I’d love to see him in the OT hot seat. I think Ralf in the boardroom and Tuchel in the dugout would set us right for years to come.

If you have him you will immediately challenge the two at top. If we failed to keep him we will be in midtable and will struggle hugely.

Tuchel happened to us gave us upper hand last season in top 4 race. We were on course this season top spot but then COVID hit our campaign and injury to main WBs definitely worth some six points more.

Our main wing backs scored 8 goals and 7 assists. Chilwell only played 6 and James 17 games. Its not excuse but we heavily relied on wingbacks for our overall structural play. Azpi and Alonso did decent job but they are limited in attack and defence.

We are confident about our immediate future that is next three seasons because tuchel is managing our team. If he goes and roman already moved on from us. Hope tuchel continue as coach for chelsea as long as he likes.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Check this about Chelsea finances and you have to be amazed at the extent of financial doping City have done. Chelsea based in London & with a 5+ year edge over city can’t compete with them in finances

 

[Rooney in Paris]

You keep banging on about it being anti Russian injustice, you really need to stop because you're cluttering up this thread.

It's not because he's from Russia, it's because 1) He's an oligarch who by 35 became a billionaire by looting state companies on the cheap 2) Is close to Putin - is said to have recommend Putin to the president job. As such given the atrocities the Russian regime is carrying out, it's right that he's penalised given that he's linked in two ways to the mess Russia has become. Furthermore given that a lot of oligarchs that didn't do what Putin wanted had their wealth confiscated or were killed, it's a reasonable conjecture, though not proven, that Roman is still likely providing support to Putin.

It's insane how people are taking this simplistic view of "he's being persecuted because he's Russian", as if he wasn't one of the key enablers of Putin over the years. You just need to pick up any well documented book about Putin, flip to the index page, and look how many times Abramovich is mentionned. This is not the case for any Russian citizen, and that's why he specifically is targeted. He won't be sanctioned, not because he shouldn't, but because he's too well connected to the West.

As for people trying to spin the argument that it's not sports washing because there has been some bad publicity or people see him as a crook - sports washing isn't about making your sins disappear, it's about becoming so well embedded in the fabric of a popular cultural vehicle, sports, that your sins are seen as benign, or acceptable. And of course they are in his case - over the past 20 years, massive sporting figures have been associated with the club, he was often at the front of celebrations with players, pundits and football experts will go into what aboutisms because "he's been good to the club" without ever offering any insightful analysis as to where his funds come from. His image is one of that guy that is probably not actually a good person but has been smiling in the stands and has injected tons of money into the footballing landscape, so it's ok. This is without even going into the soft power he must have acquired over the years, by wining and dining the elite in London, and where the washing is more faceless but would have the biggest impact.

The fact there is and has been some increased scrutiny into him does not mean it's not sports washing, or that it hasn't been successful. It's been wildly successful. And it's the same for the owners of City, PSG and Newcastle.

There is a level of naivety and head-in-the-sand going on in this thread which is pretty amazing, I don't know if it stems from 20 years of supporting and glorifying a vile person, or from pure ignorance, but it is really sad to see given how easy it is to challenge one's conceptions by digging a little bit.

 

[UweBein]

-........

There is a level of naivety and head-in-the-sand going on in this thread which is pretty amazing, I don't know if it stems from 20 years of supporting and glorifying a vile person, or from pure ignorance, but it is really sad to see given how easy it is to challenge one's conceptions by digging a little bit.

There is also a lot of naivety thinking that the West is or at least was not supporting this.
The West has welcomed the influx of Russian money rather whole heartedly, with a few criticisms along the way. (We have benefitted greatly from that. I do not mean just Chelsea, I mean the whole economy in Europe.)

And what happened when Putin did strip one of the oligarchs of pretty much all his assets (Khodorkosky)? The court in The Hague ordered Russia to pay him 50 billions back. Of course, Russia will not pay that. But that just shows you that simply arguing one is a criminal and vile oligarch is not much of an argument even in the court of law.

 

[Donaldo]

It's insane how people are taking this simplistic view of "he's being persecuted because he's Russian", as if he wasn't one of the key enablers of Putin over the years. You just need to pick up any well documented book about Putin, flip to the index page, and look how many times Abramovich is mentionned. This is not the case for any Russian citizen, and that's why he specifically is targeted. He won't be sanctioned, not because he shouldn't, but because he's too well connected to the West.

As for people trying to spin the argument that it's not sports washing because there has been some bad publicity or people see him as a crook - sports washing isn't about making your sins disappear, it's about becoming so well embedded in the fabric of a popular cultural vehicle, sports, that your sins are seen as benign, or acceptable. And of course they are in his case - over the past 20 years, massive sporting figures have been associated with the club, he was often at the front of celebrations with players, pundits and football experts will go into what aboutisms because "he's been good to the club" without ever offering any insightful analysis as to where his funds come from. His image is one of that guy that is probably not actually a good person but has been smiling in the stands and has injected tons of money into the footballing landscape, so it's ok. This is without even going into the soft power he must have acquired over the years, by wining and dining the elite in London, and where the washing is more faceless but would have the biggest impact.

The fact there is and has been some increased scrutiny into him does not mean it's not sports washing, or that it hasn't been successful. It's been wildly successful. And it's the same for the owners of City, PSG and Newcastle.

There is a level of naivety and head-in-the-sand going on in this thread which is pretty amazing, I don't know if it stems from 20 years of supporting and glorifying a vile person, or from pure ignorance, but it is really sad to see given how easy it is to challenge one's conceptions by digging a little bit.

Yep, completely agree. Excellent post.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

There is also a lot of naivety thinking that the West is or at least was not supporting this.

I agree with this (and it goes beyond Russian money, it can be extended to Emirati, Qatari, Saudi...) but as this thread is about Abramovich specifically, that's what I was discussing.

 

[TheReligion]

It's insane how people are taking this simplistic view of "he's being persecuted because he's Russian", as if he wasn't one of the key enablers of Putin over the years. You just need to pick up any well documented book about Putin, flip to the index page, and look how many times Abramovich is mentionned. This is not the case for any Russian citizen, and that's why he specifically is targeted. He won't be sanctioned, not because he shouldn't, but because he's too well connected to the West.

As for people trying to spin the argument that it's not sports washing because there has been some bad publicity or people see him as a crook - sports washing isn't about making your sins disappear, it's about becoming so well embedded in the fabric of a popular cultural vehicle, sports, that your sins are seen as benign, or acceptable. And of course they are in his case - over the past 20 years, massive sporting figures have been associated with the club, he was often at the front of celebrations with players, pundits and football experts will go into what aboutisms because "he's been good to the club" without ever offering any insightful analysis as to where his funds come from. His image is one of that guy that is probably not actually a good person but has been smiling in the stands and has injected tons of money into the footballing landscape, so it's ok. This is without even going into the soft power he must have acquired over the years, by wining and dining the elite in London, and where the washing is more faceless but would have the biggest impact.

The fact there is and has been some increased scrutiny into him does not mean it's not sports washing, or that it hasn't been successful. It's been wildly successful. And it's the same for the owners of City, PSG and Newcastle.

There is a level of naivety and head-in-the-sand going on in this thread which is pretty amazing, I don't know if it stems from 20 years of supporting and glorifying a vile person, or from pure ignorance, but it is really sad to see given how easy it is to challenge one's conceptions by digging a little bit.

Well said RiP

 

[Dumbstar]

I've got to say I have been massively impressed by Thomas Tuchel and the way he carries himself. Always a straight forward answer for everything. Usually sprinkled with a heavy dose of common sense. Clearly a top manager too.

Yeah I agree. He's the real deal. A proper "mini" Klopp. Would love him at Liverpool at some point in the future.

 

[terraloo]

Check this about Chelsea finances and you have to be amazed at the extent of financial doping City have done. Chelsea based in London & with a 5+ year edge over city can’t compete with them in finances


One point that has been missed by so many , and is highlighted in the Swiss Rambler summary , is that the real debt is in the holding company and yet most of the numbers in terms of wage costs etc are those shown in the group accounts.
Fordstam operate the hotels, sports clubs etc and much of the property purchase in advance of the failed stadium rebuildthe property portfolio includes the hotels and Ken Bates old penthouse

Chelsea FC wage bill was circa £290 million Fordstam £340 million .on top of the 440 ish employees at CFC there is another 400+ employed elsewhere within the group .

 

[ZolaWasMagic]

The Mail's article last week said that we have been assured by the govt we can still continue to operate even if RA got sanctioned, and there was even talk that if he were to get sanctioned, they'd wait for him to sell the club first.

March 15th is deadline for bids supposedly, and is also rumoured to be the date that the next lot of sanctions go out, i think

Today now the Athletic think Abramovich could still be in charge for this summer window, as UK continue to choose not to sanction him

 

[Rajiztar]

The Mail's article last week said that we have been assured by the govt we can still continue to operate even if RA got sanctioned, and there was even talk that if he were to get sanctioned, they'd wait for him to sell the club first.

March 15th is deadline for bids supposedly, and is also rumoured to be the date that the next lot of sanctions go out, i think

Today now the Athletic think Abramovich could still be in charge for this summer window, as UK continue to choose not to sanction him

The new amendment in parliament of uk for sanctions will pass March 15 I think. According to that amendment freeze the assets first questioned later will be enabled. So still Roman s assets will be seized.

May politicians pass the ball to court to decide person is right or wrong to operate in uk.

 

[cyberman]

The Mail's article last week said that we have been assured by the govt we can still continue to operate even if RA got sanctioned, and there was even talk that if he were to get sanctioned, they'd wait for him to sell the club first.

March 15th is deadline for bids supposedly, and is also rumoured to be the date that the next lot of sanctions go out, i think

Today now the Athletic think Abramovich could still be in charge for this summer window, as UK continue to choose not to sanction him

Roman is selling for a reason. He’ll know what’s coming down the line.

 

[JebelSherif]

Why don't a bunch of rich Man Utd. fans buy Chelsea, scrap the club name and rename it The Real Man Utd.

The current Man Utd. under the glazers can just disappear into wherever.

We'd have a great team and a Champions League trophy to put into the cabinet.

Plus it would put the Real Man Utd. into a nailled on top-4 slot.

Only problem, we'd have to sell Lukaku, again! Oh and a long journey for home games for Manchester people - although a short one for London people!

 

[Rightnr]

It's insane how people are taking this simplistic view of "he's being persecuted because he's Russian", as if he wasn't one of the key enablers of Putin over the years. You just need to pick up any well documented book about Putin, flip to the index page, and look how many times Abramovich is mentionned. This is not the case for any Russian citizen, and that's why he specifically is targeted. He won't be sanctioned, not because he shouldn't, but because he's too well connected to the West.

As for people trying to spin the argument that it's not sports washing because there has been some bad publicity or people see him as a crook - sports washing isn't about making your sins disappear, it's about becoming so well embedded in the fabric of a popular cultural vehicle, sports, that your sins are seen as benign, or acceptable. And of course they are in his case - over the past 20 years, massive sporting figures have been associated with the club, he was often at the front of celebrations with players, pundits and football experts will go into what aboutisms because "he's been good to the club" without ever offering any insightful analysis as to where his funds come from. His image is one of that guy that is probably not actually a good person but has been smiling in the stands and has injected tons of money into the footballing landscape, so it's ok. This is without even going into the soft power he must have acquired over the years, by wining and dining the elite in London, and where the washing is more faceless but would have the biggest impact.

The fact there is and has been some increased scrutiny into him does not mean it's not sports washing, or that it hasn't been successful. It's been wildly successful. And it's the same for the owners of City, PSG and Newcastle.

There is a level of naivety and head-in-the-sand going on in this thread which is pretty amazing, I don't know if it stems from 20 years of supporting and glorifying a vile person, or from pure ignorance, but it is really sad to see given how easy it is to challenge one's conceptions by digging a little bit.

Excellent post and you have more patience than me to point out the blindingly obvious.

 

[DavidDeSchmikes]

 

[Liver_bird]

Check this about Chelsea finances and you have to be amazed at the extent of financial doping City have done. Chelsea based in London & with a 5+ year edge over city can’t compete with them in finances

Man City are on a different level of doping. According to them they earn a 100m more a season than us and United. If you’re those two clubs you’re understandably aggrieved.

 

[Liver_bird]

It's insane how people are taking this simplistic view of "he's being persecuted because he's Russian", as if he wasn't one of the key enablers of Putin over the years. You just need to pick up any well documented book about Putin, flip to the index page, and look how many times Abramovich is mentionned. This is not the case for any Russian citizen, and that's why he specifically is targeted. He won't be sanctioned, not because he shouldn't, but because he's too well connected to the West.

As for people trying to spin the argument that it's not sports washing because there has been some bad publicity or people see him as a crook - sports washing isn't about making your sins disappear, it's about becoming so well embedded in the fabric of a popular cultural vehicle, sports, that your sins are seen as benign, or acceptable. And of course they are in his case - over the past 20 years, massive sporting figures have been associated with the club, he was often at the front of celebrations with players, pundits and football experts will go into what aboutisms because "he's been good to the club" without ever offering any insightful analysis as to where his funds come from. His image is one of that guy that is probably not actually a good person but has been smiling in the stands and has injected tons of money into the footballing landscape, so it's ok. This is without even going into the soft power he must have acquired over the years, by wining and dining the elite in London, and where the washing is more faceless but would have the biggest impact.

The fact there is and has been some increased scrutiny into him does not mean it's not sports washing, or that it hasn't been successful. It's been wildly successful. And it's the same for the owners of City, PSG and Newcastle.

There is a level of naivety and head-in-the-sand going on in this thread which is pretty amazing, I don't know if it stems from 20 years of supporting and glorifying a vile person, or from pure ignorance, but it is really sad to see given how easy it is to challenge one's conceptions by digging a little bit.

Excellent post.

 

[WeePat]

Oh oh!

 

[Dave Smith]

Surely not going to be allowed.

 

[ZolaWasMagic]

Surely not going to be allowed.

I wondered that, but the EPL have made a rod for their own back now by letting another Saudi regime in at Newcastle.

This lot already have about 4 or 5 media companies in the UK aswell

 

[Pintu]

Surely not going to be allowed.

Who is going to prevent it ?

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Can't wait until we all get to watch the Barclay's Saudi Premier League.

 

[antohan]

It's insane how people are taking this simplistic view of "he's being persecuted because he's Russian", as if he wasn't one of the key enablers of Putin over the years. You just need to pick up any well documented book about Putin, flip to the index page, and look how many times Abramovich is mentionned. This is not the case for any Russian citizen, and that's why he specifically is targeted. He won't be sanctioned, not because he shouldn't, but because he's too well connected to the West.

As for people trying to spin the argument that it's not sports washing because there has been some bad publicity or people see him as a crook - sports washing isn't about making your sins disappear, it's about becoming so well embedded in the fabric of a popular cultural vehicle, sports, that your sins are seen as benign, or acceptable. And of course they are in his case - over the past 20 years, massive sporting figures have been associated with the club, he was often at the front of celebrations with players, pundits and football experts will go into what aboutisms because "he's been good to the club" without ever offering any insightful analysis as to where his funds come from. His image is one of that guy that is probably not actually a good person but has been smiling in the stands and has injected tons of money into the footballing landscape, so it's ok. This is without even going into the soft power he must have acquired over the years, by wining and dining the elite in London, and where the washing is more faceless but would have the biggest impact.

The fact there is and has been some increased scrutiny into him does not mean it's not sports washing, or that it hasn't been successful. It's been wildly successful. And it's the same for the owners of City, PSG and Newcastle.

There is a level of naivety and head-in-the-sand going on in this thread which is pretty amazing, I don't know if it stems from 20 years of supporting and glorifying a vile person, or from pure ignorance, but it is really sad to see given how easy it is to challenge one's conceptions by digging a little bit.

Shhh! I'd rather it were just him being Russian. Extending to enabler status somewhat rules out the clearest path to getting rid of the Glazers: Americans randomly bombing some country.

 

[Dave Smith]

Who is going to prevent it ?

Isn't it partly owned by the Saudi Sovereign Wealth fund? If that's the case, isn't there a conflict with Newcastle?

 

[P-Ro]

Get excited. We could be bought by the owner of one of the most successful and exciting sports teams on the planet!!!!

 

[ZolaWasMagic]

Get excited. We could be bought by the owner of one of the most successful and exciting sports teams on the planet!!!!

Not a chance. Appears too that a member of that Saudi media group is a huge chelsea fan, often goes to the bridge

 

[Tarrou]

whenever there's talk of the Glazers selling people say hardly anyone could afford us anyway

Chelsea up for sale for a couple of weeks at ~3bn and have 10 bids!

 

[ZolaWasMagic]

The new amendment in parliament of uk for sanctions will pass March 15 I think. According to that amendment freeze the assets first questioned later will be enabled. So still Roman s assets will be seized.

May politicians pass the ball to court to decide person is right or wrong to operate in uk.

they have voted tonight on NC29 which if passed [i think] would have prevented those being so much as considered for sanctions from moving assets and/or funds out of the UK, it got voted No. So whoever gets sanctioned, or put on the list of possible sanctions can still move funds and assets. In other words, there is nothing at all in the way of Roman being able to sell the club now..

 

[Mickeza]

Get excited. We could be bought by the owner of one of the most successful and exciting sports teams on the planet!!!!

 

[talking robot]

More dirty oil money in the Prem. Hooray.

 

[Plant0x84]

Get excited. We could be bought by the owner of one of the most successful and exciting sports teams on the planet!!!!

You’re getting excited about the prospect of getting your own Woodie?!

Woody Johnson is a great name to be fair ( in an Austin Powers kinda way)!!

 

[Dave Smith]

Get excited. We could be bought by the owner of one of the most successful and exciting sports teams on the planet!!!!

For those of you that don't know anything about NFL. The Jets are disastrously run.