Selling complicated, stars gone?
Pressure on Abramovich hits Chelsea hard
03/10/2022 4:33 p.m
Roman Abramovich initiates his jump from Chelsea early in the course of the war, but it still comes too late for the club: because the oligarch is said to be close to Kremlin boss Putin, he is now being sanctioned. The government decisions hit the Champions League winners hard.
The Champions League winner and club world champion FC Chelsea is no longer allowed to transfer players, sell tickets for future games and must close all fan shops. This follows the tough sanctions Britain imposed on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich over Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The billionaire loses control of the London football club for the time being. It is currently questionable whether he can still sell it at all.
The club wants to talk to the government. The aim is to relax the sanctions. Because the future of the team is also uncertain. Chelsea can only continue playing thanks to a special license from the government, it was said before the Blues’ Premier League game at Norwich City. “Football-related activities” are therefore still permitted for Londoners. Players, coaches and all other employees may continue to be paid. Travel expenses up to a maximum of 20,000 pounds (approx. 24,000 euros) per game are permitted. The financial expenditure per home game may not exceed 500,000 pounds (approx. 600,000 euros).
This is to prevent the sanctions from damaging the club too much. By allowing Londoners to continue playing their games, the league, football as a whole, loyal fans and other clubs are protected, the government said. Nonetheless, Chelsea are being hit hard by the sanctions against Abramovich. The club is losing significant income as a result of the freeze on sales of further tickets and merchandising.
“No Safe Havens”
It is also quite possible that the Blues will also lose some top performers. For example, the contracts with courted stars, including the German national soccer player Antonio Rüdiger and the Dane Andreas Christensen, expire in the summer. In view of the sanctions, it is questionable whether new contracts can be negotiated. On top of that, Chelsea could not sign a replacement for the defensive duo.
As announced by the British government, Abramovich’s assets have been frozen. Abramovich is banned from doing business with British individuals and companies and has also been banned from travel and transport. “There must be no safe havens for those who supported Putin’s vicious attack on Ukraine,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quoted as saying.
Abramovich was “linked to a person who is involved in the destabilization of Ukraine” and who “threatens the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the government said in its justification for the move, “namely with Vladimir Putin with whom Abramovich had had a close relationship for decades. This association involved obtaining a financial or other material benefit from Putin and the government of Russia.” The 61-year-old denies being close to Putin.
Abramovich recently announced that he wanted to sell the club after almost 20 years. The move was in response to growing calls for sanctions against him. According to information from the BBC, the British government does not rule out a sale of the club in principle. The prerequisite would be that Abramovich does not make a profit from the sale. The Russian billionaire had announced that he would donate the proceeds from the sale to a foundation for victims of the war in Ukraine.
Under Abramowitsch, the Blues, who are currently being coached by German football coach Thomas Tuchel, experienced the most successful period in their club history and won all kinds of national and international titles, most recently the Champions League and the Club World Cup. In the Champions League, the round of 16 second leg is scheduled for next Wednesday in Lille – according to the current regulations, the budget of 20,000 pounds must also suffice for the trip to northern France.