Roman Abramovich is bracing himself for a slew of offers as he faces pressure to sell Chelsea Football Club amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to a report from the Telegraph, Chelsea Football Club could be set for a cloudy future ahead as Roman Abramovich faces intense pressure to sell the club. There are at least three parties closely monitoring the situation and are prepared to make an offer to buy the west London outfit, which was acquired by the Russian oligarch back in 2003.
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UK MP Chris Bryant had urged the government to seize the assets of Abramovich due to his close ties with Vladimir Putin. In the past, Abramovich has also been accused of buying the club at the behest of the Russian dictator, claims he has denied time and time again.
Facing threats of having his assets seized, Abramovich tried to distance himself from Chelsea by relinquishing his powers to the members of the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation last week.
However, that has turned out to be a disaster, with the trustees already considering resigning after reports of the Chelsea owner possibly considering selling the club. There is also speculation of the Russian wanting to sell his mansion at the Kensington Palace Gardens. It has only increased fear among those in charge of the club at present, fueling rumours of a potential takeover from a third party.
The report from Telegraph states that interested parties have never been surer of Abramovich’s desire to sell the football club. The 55-year-old has refused to sell the Blues in the past, notably declining offers worth as much as £2.2 billion. But that may soon change as the Russian billionaire faces the prospect of further sanctions amid rising geopolitical tension in Europe.
The EU earlier this week announced its plans to sanction Everton investor Alisher Usmanov, who was an outspoken supporter of the Putin regime and was a pro-Kremlin advocate.
While Abramovich has refused to paint himself as such, he does have close ties with the Russian president, and it could only be a matter of time before the oligarch is forced to make another decision on the future of his ownership of Chelsea Football Club.
