With sanctions being imposed on the Roman Abramovich-owned club, Chelsea are having to take bus journeys since limits have been imposed on what the team can spend on travel. Midfielder Kai Havertz has offered to foot the bill as the club needs, stressing that it’s more important to come to games than how they do it.
To say that Chelsea are in dire financial straits would be an understatement. Sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom government on Abramovich have affected the day-to-day workings of Chelsea football. They can only spend a maximum of 20,000 pounds on travel to or from fixtures.
This might force The Blues to take a bus instead of a flight for their FA Cup fixture against Middlesbrough. However, German midfielder Havertz doesn’t think of it being a major issue for the club, instead, stressing on the fact that it’s more important that they arrive at games. He is more than happy to foot the bill in order to help the side.
“I will pay, that’s no problem. I think that’s not a big deal for us,”
he said at a press conference ahead of his side’s Champions League clash against Lille.
“For us to come to the games is the most important thing. I think there are a lot of harder moments, harder things in the world right now than if we have to take a bus or plane to an away game.”
Meanwhile, manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that limits on the club’s spending will make certain things difficult for the team. Making a long bus journey instead of taking the flight increases the chances of injuries to players especially with such a tight schedule. However, the squad must adjust to the situation as well as they can.
“There are restrictions and we have to deal with it. There are adjustments in the amount of staff, who is travelling, how many rooms we have in hotels and how we arrive at matches,”
the German stated.