This is a new twist in the sale of Chelsea which has something to shake Blues supporters. Since the start of the war in Ukraine and the numerous sanctions that have fallen on Roman Abramovich and his entourage, due to his alleged proximity to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, the Russian oligarch has been forced to put the London club up for sale. .
Many suitors were then ready to break the bank to afford the reigning European and world champion. After several weeks of negotiations, Chelsea finally announced on May 7 that they had reached an agreement with the consortium led by Todd Boehly, co-owner of the famous baseball team the Los Angeles Dodgers, for an amount of 5 billion euros. Everything seemed to be working out well for the different parties, while the end of May serves as a deadline to finalize this file.
Chelsea at risk of going bankrupt
Except this case is not small or usual. “Of the total investment made, £2.5bn will be used to purchase the club’s shares and this proceed will be deposited in a frozen UK bank account with the intention of donating 100% to charitable causes. , as confirmed by Roman Abramovich. UK government approval will be required for proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account”explained the press release of the Blues last Saturday.
And now the British press is announcing in chorus, this Monday, that the government of Her Majesty’s Kingdom has serious doubts in this story, in particular on the fact that a valid license will be issued before the end of the month. Sky Sports explains for example, from close sources, that the Ministers have not yet received the necessary guarantees from Roman Abramovich concerning the destination of the famous 2.5 billion pounds sterling. The Telegraph assures his side that the negotiations would be more and more tense, and Whitehall (the equivalent of Matignon) would accuse Abramovich of exposing his club to bankruptcy.
The contraction of a £1.54 billion loan for whoever bought Chelsea 19 years ago actually gets stuck in this story. “The government is concerned about the gap between what Roman Abramovich has said he will do publicly and what he is prepared to legally commit to in the sale process”, said a source familiar with the matter to the English daily. The noose is tightening around the Blues and their owner who has not finished talking about him.
