Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, according to a report by the Telegraph have agreed to a sale of the club. Several groups of buyers are said to be interested in the Premier League club. Meanwhile, the British government’s sanctions against Chelsea are already having an impact.
Abramovich’s assets were frozen on Thursday due to his connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin and several oligarchs: Chelsea are now at least temporarily no longer allowed to sell tickets and fan articles, and contract talks with players are also on hold. Shirt sponsor Three dropped out a little later, and Nike is said to be considering an exit.
Now he reports Telegraph, that Abramovich has agreed to sell the club, although in fact he is no longer allowed to have anything to do with the sale process due to the sanctions. The 55-year-old had already announced a sale at the end of February, and he wanted to transfer the net profits to a disaster relief foundation in Ukraine. After the sanctions, however, his departure was again in limbo.
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The American bank Raine is to conduct the corresponding talks with potential groups of buyers. The deadline for offers has been extended to next Friday, according to the newspaper there are currently three interested parties. Among them is the Ricketts family, owners of MLB club Chicago Cubs, and Woody Johnson, owner of NFL team New York Jets.
Chelsea FC: Credit cards temporarily blocked
Meanwhile, the sanctions against the Blues, which also restrict spending on travel to away games, have led to Barclaycard blocking the club’s credit cards, at least temporarily. This is reported by several media. Loud Telegraph However, the club is said to be unable to cover ongoing security, steward and catering costs at Stamford Bridge under the current sanctions. For example, the government has capped spending on a Chelsea home game at a maximum of £500,000, but hosting a home game should cost between £800,000 and £1 million.
Chelsea hope that the government will still allow the sale of tickets – only season ticket holders are currently allowed into the stadium – so that they have more money to cover running costs. It was emphasized that such a sale would mean no income for Abramovich.
The Champions League holders’ next home game is against Newcastle United on Sunday. After that, the Blues welcome FC Brentford on April 2nd.
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