Last night, Chelsea fans around the world received very shocking news about the club’s owner. The UK Government has sanctioned Mr. Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea FC. There had been expectations that the British Prime Minister would impose sanctions on anyone connected to Vladimir Putin after the Russian invasion in Ukraine. That is why Roman Abramovich tried to sell the club as early as possible. But finally, the government imposed a sanction on him. That means Abramovich can’t sell Chelsea now.
Effects On Chelsea
The UK Government wants to prevent the Russian owner from making money in the UK. As a result, the government has frozen all of his assets in the UK. The net worth of Roman Abramovich is estimated to be around £9.4bn, including a £150m mansion in London. However, the government has also imposed some sanctions on Chelsea. They are
- The club can’t sell any tickets. Those who have already booked tickets can only come to the stadium to see the match.
- Chelsea cannot buy or sell any players.
- The club can’t renew its player’s contract.
- Chelsea are not allowed to sell any merchandise to their fans.
These bans have made the future of the club uncertain. Many players’ contracts will expire in June. Andreas Christenson, Antonio Rudiger, and Cesar Azpilicueta will be out of contract on June 30. So, their future has become uncertain after that decision. However, Chelsea have a special license to complete the fixture of this season.
Manager’s Thoughts
Thomas Tuchel, the manager of Chelsea has talked about the sanction before the match against Norwich City. He said,
I don’t know if I’m concerned, but we are aware of it and it changes almost every day. We cannot do much about it. I’m still happy to be here, still happy to be the manager of a strong football team and I’m happy to play the match today. I know there’s a lot of noise around and still, we allow ourselves to try our best to focus on football.