In a short statement on Saturday, the football club Chelsea writes that Roman Abramovich is relinquishing control.
– Through my almost 20 years of ownership of Chelsea FC, I have always looked at my role as a manager of the club, where my job has been to ensure that we have as much success as possible today, while building for the future while we plays a positive role in our local community. I have always made all the decisions with the club’s best in mind. I am still committed to these values. That is why today I give trustees of Chelsea’s charitable foundation the management and care of Chelsea FC, writes Roman Abramovich in the press releases.
Abramovich’s ownership of Chelsea has been the subject of heated debate in a number of media recently. Several organizations and politicians have, in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, advocated freezing the oligarch’s assets in Britain.
It is still unclear exactly what the departure of Abramovich means.
Must have sanction insurance
Forbes wrote earlier this week that Abramovich will have insurance that will protect him should Britain try to push him out of Chelsea.
Abramovich bought Chelsea for $ 190 million in 2003. Last year, Forbes valued the club at $ 3.2 billion. The club’s debt to the Russian oligarch is estimated at two billion dollars, according to the magazine.
Debt can quickly become a huge problem for Chelsea. In the worst case, Abramovich can demand repayment of the loan from the English club immediately.
– If he wants revenge, he can claim the loan from Chelsea. This means that Chelsea is going bankrupt, and Putin can have the pleasure of saying ‘well, you asked for it’, said associate professor Kieran Maguire at the University of Liverpool to Forbes earlier this week.
Also The Times writes that Chelsea are now in danger of going bankrupt as a result of Abramovich’s resignation.
Associate Professor Maguire at the University of Liverpool believes that Abramovich can effectively argue that his assets are frozen, and demand that the debt be paid immediately.
“In that case, the club will cease,” Maguire told Forbes.
Politician against Abramovich
Labor politician Chris Bryant was among those who called for the British Parliament to freeze or take control of Abramovich’s assets in the UK – including Chelsea and the investment company Millhouse LLC.
– It can not be that Abramovich will still be able to own a football club in this country? “We should look at the possibilities of taking control of some of his assets, as well as making sure that others who have entrepreneurial visas like this are not involved in malicious activity in the UK,” Bryant told the House of Commons earlier this week. Fortune.
In Britain, there has been speculation for several years about the relationship between Abramovich and Vladimir Putin. Last year, Abramovich sued author Catherine Belton for writing that Abramovich had received an order from Putin to buy Chelsea, among other things.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that Abramovich would face sanctions, but Johnson later withdrew the statement. Abramovich was not hit by the massive sanctions imposed by Britain on Russian banks and billionaires later this week.
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