The ongoing Russian-Ukrainian crisis could have a lasting effect on Chelsea FC, the club owned by oligarch Roman Abramovich. Buyers are monitoring the developing situation, while head coach Thomas Tuchel has accepted the criticism levied towards the club.
As Labour MP Chris Bryant joined in the calls to sanction Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the impact of his words could be felt as far as Stamford Bridge, home of the Abramovich-owned Premier League club Chelsea. Caught in the undertow of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the future could look very different for the West London-based outfit.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel understands some of the criticism levied towards the owner and, as a consequence, the club. The German spoke about the same in his most recent press conference, stating that the unforeseen crisis has created a horrible situation for everyone at the club and involved with it.
“We should not pretend that this is not an issue,”
“The situation in general, for me and for my staff and for everybody here at Cobham, for the players, is horrible. Nobody expected this. It’s pretty unreal, it’s clouding our minds, it’s clouding excitement towards the final and it brings huge uncertainty.
“To a certain degree, I can understand it to such a degree the opinions and the critical opinions towards the club, towards us who represent that club. I can understand that and we cannot fully free ourselves from it.”
he said.
While Tuchel may find it difficult to sever the links between Chelsea and Abramovich, the prospects of sanctions could. The developing crisis could force the Russian to sell his prized asset and interested buyers are monitoring the situation closely – says Bloomberg. Investors and equity firms, both domestic and from across the Atlantic, are preparing takeover offers, and the London club has already been the subject of one such inquiry recently.
Abramovich, at present, has not been included in the UK’s sanctions list against Russia and its associates. Should he be included, his UK-based assets would be frozen, and he would be ineligible to sell them on – meaning he could lose out on a potential pay-out of over 2.1 billion USD, which is what Chelsea are currently valued at.
